Lately, I’ve been into a TV show call Reba. It’s about a single mom who works too hard. Who loves her kids and never stops. She’s gone through divorce. She has a pregnant teen. It’s a very real and heartfelt show where the characters love each other enough to get mad and work it out. The other night, I watched an episode where the pregnant teen’s husband was worried that their daughter was behind in intelligence because he’s “not the sharpest tool on the chandelier.” He admitted that it took him until he was five years old to learn to tie his shoes.
It’s revealed that he took so long to learn to tie his shoes because every time he would start, the bunny going down the rabbit hole, suddenly became a rocket ship or his shoes became racecars. His imagination would go wild. He probably went off on a lot of adventures that not a lot of people understood.
The scene reminded me of the quote by Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” This was always a quote I held onto, because I, too, am not the sharpest tool on the chandelier. I like to write. I like to paint. I like to imagine and create things. Follow stories and use them to create my own adventures. I was the kid in class doodling and not paying attention because I was more interested in my imagination. I’m a creative, and lately, I’ve been forgetting that.
Everyone is different. All children develop in their own time, their own way. Maybe intellect is your thing and you can memorize the periodic table. Maybe you’re more attuned as a dreamer or maybe your a bit of both. Regardless, the world needs all of us. I believe that opening our minds with imagination can rocket us into great things.
nikki diekemper 