Imagination

“There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.”

-Gilbert K. Chesterton

            At what point does any given person’s imagination reach its limit? Intrinsically, there is no limit. It’s impractical to place a cap on the distances our minds can take us to. Many people say “the sky’s the limit”, but I personally deem this to be short of the truth, for our ability to achieve our goals and the levels of our perseverance and determination stretch far beyond the atmosphere above us. As Chesterton states, there’s no regulations placed on a region that resides in a place that’s ajar for all dreams.There aren't blueprints for the ideas we conceive.

The dictionary definition of the word imagination: the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.

This fundamentally denotes that mind's eye derives from each individual’s ability to conjure up a sort of vision, a vision that has not yet been entirely fashioned or exposed. The thoughts we develop serve as the foundations of our creations, opinions, beliefs, decisions we make, and lead to the conclusions we ultimately come to.

A notable part about imagination is that nobody lacks it, since it’s simply unfeasible to not be able to ‘imagine’ anything at all. Naturally, not everyone holds the same aptitude to consider certain things. Perceptibly, someone who had been blind all their life would have an entirely different perspective compared to that of a person who had most, if not some of their full vision. That visually impaired person wouldn’t have a basis of how their surroundings looks like, thereby separating what their imagination would be like from the person who could see; someone who knew what their surroundings looked like would in effect, involuntarily base all of their thoughts off of what they see in front of them. As our eyes are, in theory, windows for our minds to look out of, enlightening the thoughts we perceive.

What would this world be without the presence of imagination? Or more significantly, what would this world be if people hadn’t acted on the ideas they formulated from their imaginations? Critical inventions and innovations in this world, like the car or airplane, medical advancements, and technology in general, exhibit how a simple contemplation or idea can change how our world functions entirely.

We can’t lose our imagination, but sometimes we can unwillingly confine or mediate our ideas. Like a child, what we imagine can be utterly extraordinary, and often times unrealistic or we can envisage straightforward and cookie-cutter notions. Nevertheless, whichever may define ones vision, it’s not only vital to keep our imaginations alive, but to now and again subsist within them.