Fierce Power

From the Kabbalah:

The fierce power of imagination is a gift from God.

Think about that ~~ fierce power. What a strong phrasing. We often reference the power of the imagination when we talk about the arts. Without the imagination, much of what we produce that is considered beautiful would not exist.

Or we talk about the wild imaginings of children who can see things so differently from adults. I wonder who sees truly and who has less ability to see? Perhaps as we grow older, we buy into the cultural norm and lose the wildness of the imagination.

But we don't talk about imagination's fierce power, or that it's a gift from God. The definition I'd probably choose at the merriam-webster.com site is "furiously active or determined." That was before I checked the origins of the word: "Middle English fiers, from Anglo-French fer, fers, fiers, from Latin ferus wild, savage"...

Yes! The power of the imagination is wild! The wild is what feeds the power and creates the force that explodes as the imagination. And... it's a gift from God. Or Goddess. Or whatever you choose to call that Ineffable One.

In the current temperament of our culture, there is an overwhelming squashing of imagination. Arts classes are cut from middle school, junior high and senior high schools. Teaching to the test negates the adventure of taking risks and getting messy and exploring our incredible imaginations. We've forgotten that those imaginations are gifts and have been our greatest gift as a culture. Just imagine where we'd be without the creativity of Harriet Tubman, John Muir, Albert Einstein, Aaron Copeland, Marilyn Monroe, Eleanor Roosevelt, Steve Jobs and so many others.

As for me, I love the wildness of that fierce imagination. I continue to encourage it whenever and wherever I see it. Now, I will also remember to thank the One for that fierce gift expressing through each person. Amen.