Remember, when you were a kid and the entire world was within walking distance?
Those were simpler times…right?
We lived out in the country, four miles east of civilization…we liked it out there in the wild.
We had a bunch of rocks down the road from our house that we very creatively called “the rocks”.
We had a small swampy patch of about a dozen trees that we called “the jungle”.
There were dirt roads, ranches and land fills all within walking distance. The world was waiting and we could grab it.
We spent hours in “the jungle” building forts and daydreaming about escaping certain danger (lions and tigers and ticks, oh my!)
If we wanted far away adventure, we just hopped on our bikes and rode.
We made elaborate bike ramps out of boards and cinder blocks.
We spent whole afternoons popping wheelies.
We stomped around in muddy creek beds catching craw dads and tadpoles.
We were card carrying citizens of a nation called imagine.
And imagination took us wild places.
All within walking distance.
We went to space on a rusty swing set, narrowly escaping the planet tetanus.
We fought dragons and evil knights in a overgrown garden.
We were reckless pirates digging for treasure in a cow pasture.
We were Evel Knievel flying over snake river canyon on garage sale Schwinns (with banana seats).
It seemed that we heard a secret song undetected by grown up ears.
It was a song of promise and play.
We joyfully hummed along.
But, at some point the world gets bigger and more complicated.
You wake up and you realize that you haven’t popped a wheelie in decades.
You wade through a different kind of jungle every day and it’s dangers are real.
instead of space, you dream about getting out of debt.
You quit your day dream and start your day job.
But, what if the world has really always been a pretty complicated place?
What if we were just better dreamers back then?
What if we were just better at allowing imagination to take us beyond complication?
What if we could rediscover that nation called imagine.
What if we could hear the music again?
Maybe the secret to survival with our feet on the ground is to get our mind in the clouds.
Imagination is all about vision.
It’s seeing the unseen.
Where others see a small patch of sickly trees, you see a jungle.
Where others see an old two by four, you see a bike ramp.
Where others see obstacles and chores, you see opportunities for adventure and fun.
The world is waiting and it’s closer than you think.
But it’s best if you see it through the eyes of a child.
Reignite your imagination.
Let it take you to wild places!
See the unseen.
Take time to pop some wheelies.
carbonated joy 