Nurturing Imagination With Intention
Ourselves, Charlotte Mason Volume 4 ( Part II The House Of Mind); Chapter 4 - My Lord Chief Explorer, Imagination
“You have no way of limiting screen time, I’ll just watch it all again in my mind.” - That’s what my younger kid said to me a few years ago. I think he summarised, pretty effectively, what the imagination is like. We all express imagination differently. Poets and painters use words and paint to share glimpses of what their imagination creates. Little children show us some of their imagination in their pretend play.
We rarely think of imagination as something to be cultivated, yet we often do things to help nurture our children’s imagination. Reading to children paints pictures of places they've never been. Pointing out a hill helps a child imagine a mountain before they’ve ever seen one. I remember when my younger child watched The Wingfeather Saga episodes after I’d read him the books. He said, ‘The Fangs look different from what I saw in my mind.’
Our imagination is also strengthened by the breadth and quality of our experiences. If our experiences are all centred around self, there's a good chance our imagination will follow suit, and we’ll potentially become very self-centred.
That said, what is the place of virtue in our imagination? Imagination is neither good nor bad; it merely follows the direction of its owner. Even though most of us like to think we’re virtuous, unless we consistently feed our minds with what is good and beautiful, we won’t realise when our imagination starts to become less than wholesome. Our inclination to do good will become less automatic and more tedious.
This week, let’s remember to feed our minds (and our children’s minds) with that which is good, virtuous, and of good report.
Best Regards,
Olufunmike