Imagination Gymnastics

In my childhood home, there was a long hallway with a huge mirror at the end of it. Every time I would enter the hallway as a kid, I would imagine myself doing a gymnastics routine down the hall, a floor exercise befitting a triple ten score. At the end of the hall, I would stand in front of the mirror, throw my arms proudly in the air, and take in the applause that resonated in my mind.

It has been a long time since I’ve done imagination gymnastics.  Maybe it’s the fact that my childhood home is a distant memory. Maybe it’s because as we get older, we don’t think exercising our imaginations is as important as doing something technically more  productive.

The thing is, our bodies are only capable of doing so much. We can’t teleport (yet) and most of us have commitments that keep us tied to our desks, offices, and homes. In contrast, our imaginations have an endless fuel supply. They have a round trip ticket around the world that never expires. They allow us to be everywhere, and do everything, potentially all at once. They allow writers like me, to become Olympic athletes, rock stars, and International jetsetters.

So next time you’re walking down a hall, or just sitting at your desk, do some mental handsprings. Allow yourself to work out your imagination, the way you would when you were a child. The more you do, the better your writing, and all your creative output, will be.