Sunday, December 8, 2013

Imagine

According to new age pundits, the key to a successful life lies in the ability to visualize a goal, and then step into it.

Consider a study performed on pro basketball players. One group practiced tossing balls into the hoop for an hour. The other group did the on-court boogey for thirty minutes and spent the other thirty on their backs (by choice) visualizing the ball swooshing through the net. Then they went into action; the ones who had imagined that coveted swoosh scored better than the ones who practiced trying to swoosh it. Apparently, imagination can be harnessed to powerfully influence an outcome.

At the other end of the spectrum, a celebrity with serious depression remarked famously about his illness, "There is a magic wand across the room that can grant your every wish, but you can't be bothered to get up and get it."

This leads to an interesting puzzle. Why can some people see a bright picture on the horizon and move towards it by leaps and bounds, while others defy the logic of such positive action, sinking deeper and deeper into a paralyzing malaise?

The pharmaceutical industry has tried its best to remedy this conundrum with drugs of all types to sway the mood from black to bright. Millions of people and even their dogs are on Prozac. (Yes, dogs in America are prescribed that famous anti-depressant with regularity and do tend to bite their owners less often once dosed properly.)

A throw of the genetic dice probably explains the propensity for some to have a more cheery disposition than others, but nonetheless, the key to the kingdom lies in one's perception.
Every man-made item we see around us was born in the mind first; even our atmosphere now responds to mankind's creations in the form of global warming.

What we imagine gives rise to all sorts of phenomena, so it behooves us to think carefully lest our jumble of ideas leads to self-fulfilling prophesies. As ever-so-clever human beings, perhaps our species could do a collective vision quest.

In the words of John Lennon, bard of the 20th century:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
 

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
 

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one


Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world


You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one





2 comments:

  1. So I am trying a comment here to see it you get it. Great insight re. John Lennon; reading those Imagine lyrics again , we
    L, yes, he was the true bard of the 20th century.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent blog, Carole. John Lennon as the bard of the 20th century: great insight

    ReplyDelete

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