The Imagined Self Within the Reality of Now

When you were a kid, do you remember always wanting to be a grown-up or to have some more 'responsibility' other than being a kid? Then, it was fun. Not so as you grow, but when you were young you looked upon that alter 'self' as a place of intrigue. That intrigue moved you to create all types of scenarios and your mind took you there with ease.

MAYBE YOU PICTURED YOURSELF AS A FIREMAN, A DOCTOR, A LAWYER, A TEACHER OR ANY NUMBER OF INTRIGUING ROLES. YOU WERE YOUNG AND THE YOU NEEDED TO MOVE INTO THE REALM OF FANTASY TO ESCAPE THE REALITY OF JUST BEING A KID.

YOU WANTED TO MOVE BEYOND THE ORDINARY REALM OF YOUTH INTO A MORE RESPONSIBLE AND PERHAPS, AN 'ADMIRED' ROLE AS AN ADULT. THAT'S WHY YOU COULD BE YOURSELF AS THE ASTRONAUT OR THE WORLD CLASS SKIER, OR MAYBE THE SCIENTIST WHO FINDS A CURE FOR A DREADED DISEASE. POINT BEING, YOU CREATED AT THAT TIME AND THAT CREATION ALLOWED YOU TO MAKE OF a WORLD that EXISTED AS YOU WERE GROWING.

THAT FANTASY MOVED YOU FROM THE ORDINARY TO THE REALM OF THE 'IMAGINED', AND YET WHEN YOU CAME BACK DOWN TO EARTH, YOU WERE STILL A KID, WHO HAD TO EXIST IN THE REALITY OF BODY THAT WAS GROWING. LET'S GO BACK TO THAT TIME, BUT THIS TIME, PICTURE YOURSELF AS ADULT WHO NEEDS TO Regain SOME OF THAT ILLUSORY IMAGINATIVE SKILLS.

When I write of the imagined self, I'm writing about the altered self which exist in our imaginations. That self carries the traits of the person we would most like to be and it also carries the responsibility and the possibility of a new face put on our worn perspective.

WE CREATE, THROUGH THE USE OF IMAGINATION, A NEW SELF. THAT SELF CAN BE A CEO , FIREFIGHTER, TEACHER, HOCKEY PLAYER OR any NUMBER OF PROFESSIONS THAT WE ADMIRE. THAT SELF CAN BE RICH, THAT SELF CAN BE AN ORDINARY JOE WHO DESPITE AND ORDINARY INCOME LIVES IN A WORLD OF HAPPINESS, THAT SELF CAN BE CONTENT REGARDLESS OF LIFE'S ADVERSITIES AND THAT SELF CAN BE ANYTHING THAT WE WANT IT TO BE. IT'S OURS ALONE TO CREATE AND WE TAKE THE VISION AND RUN WITH IT.

Let's do that again as adults, but this time, let's make believe that its for real. I want you to imagine yourself as NFL football player, or maybe a CEO of a company or even a lawyer. maybe an architect entrusted with creating a grand design. And then I want you to imagine yourself as doing this with a great responsibility weighing on your back.

You're an adult in this vision and your actions have consequences. So you want the consequences to move you forward and create a meaningful life from within, even if it appears or exist in duality with recognition , wealth or gratification on a personal; level.

The you that you create operates every day as though the most important aspect in life was to to achieve a level of gratification from life. Note that this vision can move more beyond mere physical or monetary gratification. You want the picture to be complete and so you want your vision of whom you want to become, or the the role to which you aspire to be complete. To do this, you must ultimately be happy.

Your day to day activities will have an underpinning of that move, that theme, that drive that moves you towards happiness and you do it all while you scrub floors as the night janitor, or work at the carry-out, or the fast food store. You do it with the 'imagined self' that exist within and takes over in the real world.

You are no longer the peon, but a mover in your world. You do this in the recognition that your imagined world can become reality with faith, gratitude and perseverance.

Let's talk next about "possibility and how it fits into the equation.