Dreams and Painted Horses

A friend and I were reminiscing about the imagination games we used to play when we were kids and we got to wondering what happened to our imagination? It seems as adults we only use our imaginations to problem solve. I use mine to imagine how many sheets of drywall I’ll need to finish my basement or to come up with medical worst-case-scenarios and how I would handle them. But this isn’t fun like pretending the blue carpet was ocean and the bed was a boat and there were sharks that would get you if you touched the carpet while jumping to the island. I suppose when you’re a kid that’s being well-provided for and you’re being told when you will eat, what you will eat, how much you will eat, when you will go to bed, when you will get up, what you will wear, when you will share, what you will share, how you will behave etc, you have the luxury of using your imagination for games and stories. As an adult it seems that imagination is a problem-solving survival tool. The other thing that children have the luxury of doing is dreaming big. I whole-heartedly support this. I think everyone, regardless of age should dream big, but I’ve also learned it’s a lot easier to do when you’re safe with your parents then when you’re out on your own making ends meet. When you’re a kid, if you’re lucky, your parents teach you that there is value to your ideas and thoughts and that the world can use you in anyway you can imagine if you are willing to work toward it. This is when we were going to be astronauts and doctors, when we were going to explore the world and raise enough money to feed all of the starving children or save the rainforests. (We had a penny drive to save the rainforest in elementary school. I was seven-years-old and when they announced that we had raised enough money to save one acre I was sure we had just saved an entire forest.) We had big, wonderful dreams. I think we always need to encourage our kids to dream big. However, we also need to introduce them to real horses. (Random statement that will make sense soon.)

Also along these thoughts are painted horses. Another friend and I were having supper at the food court in Chinook Mall yesterday. There’s a big carousel there that I was watching and it seemed that there was a life metaphor in this carousel. Children rush onto the carousel and pick out a horse that catches their eye. These horses are painted different colours and are bejewelled and feathered and have flowers in their manes. The kids get on and they go up and down, round and round and round. They think it’s great. Who wouldn’t want a shiny horse with a sparkly braided tail and flowers in its mane? I was thinking that some adults treat their dreams (or their lives for that matter) like these painted horses. That they’re colourful and sparkly and look fun but they just go up and down, around and around and never get anywhere. They never really develop a relationship with their painted horse, heck, they never even have to feed it. They just sit on it and think they look good as they go around in a circle.
The rest of us get off the carousel at some point in our childhood and eventually we find a real horse with our name on it. The reality of these horses is that they’re big and powerful but you have to learn to control them. They eat a lot, crap a lot and some bite. They kind of smell and they make you sneezy. It takes a lot dedication to look after one properly and to develop a relationship with it and even then you might find yourself getting bucked to the ground. These horses may not have flowers and jewels in their manes but they don’t just go up and down, around and around either. These horses, when they’re cared for properly can take you virtually anywhere at any speed you choose. They can carry extra loads sometimes and warn you when predators are near. Riding them may leave you sore and chaffed but you will get where you’re going.

I’m thinking that maybe, as adults, that if we used our imaginations more often for silly games and made up stories we may be less stressed and laugh more often. That if we could remember to dream big we would find more opportunities to use our talents and resources to improve our little corner of the world. If we make sure we’re putting the effort into our lives and dreams as though they were real horses, then we won’t be the weird, middle aged guy in a suit sitting on a childrens carousel while someone fills out a Form 1 one for him.