Exercise Your Imagination Muscle

Everyone has an imagination. Just watch an infant and try to picture what he’s thinking as he examines his fingers and toes.

Toddlers often lull themselves to sleep by babbling. What are they saying – or what do they think they’re saying? My preschool grandchildren have imaginary friends. They talk to their toys. Then, they grow up and stop doing all this.

Are you embarrassed to keep fantastical conversations running through your mind? I’m not. I talk to myself constantly. Some of my fictional dialogues have been going on for years. I rehash them, refine them and move right along to the next topic. I don’t think my lips are moving, but…Well, these days, people with ear buds walk around carrying on conversations all the time. I just do it without the tech.

Occasionally, I jot down something witty or just unique that I’ve “said.” Hey, these are my words and I might want to use them again. Maybe they’ll turn into a new book. Maybe I’ll be able to slip them into a multi-person conversation (not one in my head) at just the right time. Spoken or not, they belong to me and I can share them, or not, as I wish.

Don’t discount what your little ones are thinking as they sort their stuffed animals over and over again - by color, by size, by fluffiness. They’re exercising that imagination muscle. Exercise yours, too.