June 13, 2007

• Imagination

  I think imagination is more powerful than most people think. It’s not just fun to “play house” or “superhero”. It’s not just a release to see a movie, a break from your daily responsibilities. I think we all possess the uncanny ability to experience what others experience through our imaginations. What could possibly be more important in this world we live in than understanding. Despite what some might suggest, that a white person cannot understand what its like to be black in America, or that a man cannot understand a woman, for example, I say we can (I’m not saying that we do, just that we can).
  
  I had a dream last night that I was playing the trumpet. I was playing some Miles Davis music (although I wasn’t Miles Davis). It felt real, and the sound that came out was not exactly what I expected, which to me was realistic. I was playing and felt like I was playing, I heard it, I felt the difference in my lips when the horn sounded different. And then I finished the melody and moved on to improvisation, and had no idea what to do and completely botched it up.
  
  Maybe that’s not what it really feels like to play the trumpet, but it was vivid enough that I think I know now what its like. Is it accurate? Can I know what its like to be black, without the help of someone who is sharing his perspective with me? I doubt it. Imagination isn’t made up, it doesn’t come from nowhere. But it is an ability, an uncanny ability. It is a superpower, if you will, but it has to be developed.
  

  • 12:31 pm
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