Today, a comment got me wondering where restlessness comes from. I think we’re restless most often when we feel “stuck”.
Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! ~Dr. Seuss
Stuck in our careers, homes, relationships, circumstances, way of lives… whatever, you name it. Or maybe you can’t name it. Maybe you just feel stuck and can’t articulate where it’s coming from. Sometimes, this has a lot to do with our thought process.
Then later I heard something interesting:
“Imagination is always either leading us toward enlightenment, or it is leading us away from enlightenment.
There is no such thing as stuck.
We are always moving in one direction or the other.”
This struck me for two reasons.
One, because I really believe there is something extremely special and undiscovered about the imaginative faculty; it’s one of the topics I like exploring here at Serenity Hacker. The idea that it can lead to enlightenment (or deeper happiness) really intrigues me.
And two, because sometimes, I feel a little stuck, myself. I think everyone out there can relate to that.
But could it be that simple? Is the power of our imaginations in our thoughts either causing us misery or leading us toward enlightenment and more fulfillment? Maybe, in some ways it really is that simple…
I like the premise that imagination is always at work. That it’s always moving us in a direction. If we take this as true, then a lot of our negative thinking, including thoughts of guilt, fear, doubt and insecurity, could easily come from imagination gone awry.
We usually think of imagination as something we have to “tap into” or “develop”. Something that’s not always accessible to us, that we need to work toward by conjuring up a certain mood or state of mind. But it could true be that:
the vast and limitless powers of imagination are impossible to turn off
Imagination is always creating, growing, embellishing and amplifying things for our minds to explore and analyze. It can be beautiful.
But, if you don’t give it something positive to focus on, your imagination can start creating thoughts out of all the crappy stuff. All of those yucky “voices” we hear when our minds aren’t quiet, all those lousy thoughts that we’d rather not think, that’s just imagination doing what it does.
It’s no wonder that we get so restless, avoid boredom, and fill our lives with endless distractions. We sometimes tire of watching our minds create garbage, stuff that brings us down. And we don’t know how to stop it.
But maybe there’s liberation in realizing that we never really can stop it. Our imaginations will always be operational, always working, there in the background (or sometimes the foreground), creating. As long as we think, imagination will play its part in that.
This power within us can do different things, depending on what we focus on: it can either move us closer to peace within ourselves, deeper fulfillment, and aliveness, or it can bring us further away from that, creating problems, dilemmas, and fears to consume our attention. If we let it. Your imagination is infinite and limitless; it will just keep creating.
So look at your thoughts in any given moment and see how they are making you feel. That’s a clue as to which way your imagination is taking you. Do they make you feel happy or more at peace? Is what you’re thinking leading you toward a more accepting, lighter, more alive place?
If not, then let those thoughts be: your imagination just created something that’s leading you away from the good stuff. You don’t need to continue thinking about it.
When you notice your imagination taking you in the wrong direction, you’re always free not go with it. Chalk it up to imagination getting carried away with itself. And with you. Imagination does that.
But it’s not a one-way street. There are no dead-ends. You’re not stuck because your imagination is always moving you in a direction, even if just a little. If you see that you don’t like where it’s going, you can always make a u-turn, any time you want. Try coming back to the present moment first, and then put your focus elsewhere.
Next time you’re caught up in thought, stop and observe: In which direction is your imagination taking you?
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.
When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. ~Buddha
You Might Also Enjoy:
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Miche, awesome article!
I think that with every situation we are either moving forward or backward with your life.
Actually your post made me think how true it is that we are constantly imaging everything, and how we can change if it doesn’t work for us.
Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..Climate Change
Hi Oscar, thanks! I really liked the simplicity of it all stemming from imagination. It just seemed like one of those simple yet profound truths.
Hey Miche,
Love your thoughts on this, and I love the way you question what you read and then express your logic as you find agreement in what you found.
As Einstein said, “Imagination is everything.”
I am glad I found your blog.
Rasheed
Rasheed Hooda´s last blog ..77 Days of Passionate Pursuit
Hi Rasheed, thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you found it, too. Thanks for appreciating my grappling with this idea, I was wondering if it was too confusing or too vague, so thanks
Hi Miche
I really like this post and the ideas you bring up are really great to look at from a broader perspective.
I too have heard that idea before that you mentioned in the comment you got. It is actually something I live by, for me it resonates this way – everything is in a state of growth, if it is not growing, then it is dying.
Now the idea of “dying” here is used more loosely than actual physical transformation. If we are not growing, towards enlightenment, then one can see that as “stuck” or dying. I know there are many “dead” people walking around like zombies, not sure of who they are, what they are or why they are here.
Another way I like to look at it, is either we are evolving or de-evolving. Evolving being of course expanding our consciousness and moving towards enlightenment, light and love. And de-evolving acting out of less consciousness than we had the ability to do so before. One can argue that in between there, there is such an area as “stuck” I am sure.
Many ways to go around this, thanks for opening this up to a greater discussion.
Evita´s last blog ..14 Things I Can’t Live Without
Hi Evita, thanks for joining the discussion, and welcome! I think what you’ve articulated is really right on. The in-between area of “stuck” between evolving and de-evolving, growing and not growing, being more of ourselves or being less… Thanks!
This is a great post, I do agree that stuck is not a real issue you are always in motion going somewhere. The mind is an awesome thing, control is the key to getting back on track, squashing negative destructive thoughts, and progressing on your desired path.
Imagination on the other hand is the fire to accomplish or destroy when put into motion. When you look ahead to the future and set where you want to be, or what you want to accomplish, then set a desired path to get there that is all imagination. kind of like a movie to refer to as you work on what you need to to get there.
On this journey there will always be things that get you off track, the feeling of stuck may be part of that. Move on do something completely different for a little while. Normally what you choose to move on to will reveal and unstick your stuckness.
WOW I invent words also, It’s getting to be the end of of long day here in Las Vegas so let me see if I can get this right and make some kind of sense. I will be amazed.
Only live in the now, deal with where you are, and what you have right now. You have your plan of where you are going, you can only do things where you are in time right now. You can’t do anything in the future that will be your now later. Anything in your past is gone, all you can do is be completely happy with the past, forgive completely yourself or anyone that you need to in your past. You have no control over the past don’t let the past have any control over you.
Too many people get “stuck” in the past or the future, consciously release that block. Always have fun with your imagination. Just know without doubt where you are going, there will be plenty of time to get off course and back on.
There is so much on this subject.
I do need to stop now though.
I hope I have been of value here.
Great post Thanks.
Brad West ~ onomoney
Brad West´s last blog ..5 Points to a Successful Mind
Hi Brad, welcome, and thanks for digging into this! I agree that desire can be a really strong influence in getting where you want to go, especially when it’s working in sync with imagination. There was a time in my life where I achieved quite a bit totally fueled by desire and intention… it seemed that everything fell into place and the “universe conspired” to help that along.
I like your advice and the insight that if you feel “stuck” and move on and do something different for a while, that it will eventually “reveal and unstick your stuckness”. There’s definitely something to that. I also agree that people get “blocked” worrying about the future and ruminating over the past.
What’s got me really “thinking” though is the idea that maybe all of our “thinking” is just tuning into imagination. Instead of imagination being something we “develop”, or try to “utilize”, maybe it is the absolute source of all our thoughts, always creating and embellishing everything possible, and we see whatever we are giving our attention to.
When I look at it in this respect, I see our imagination as the “source”, part of the greater, universal, infinite creative force, and our “attention” (or focus) as the “self”… the individual lens through which we “tune in” and view it, which we have the ability to direct.
I love waxing philosophical sometimes, so thanks for inviting more discussion!
Cheers, Miche
Hey Miche.
You are sure right about this. I am either on the moving elevator labeled “going forward” or the moving elevator labeled “going backward”. I focus on staying on the first elevator because all it requires is a payment of effort, which I don’t regret using.
If we think of our day like we are pushing a ball up a hill, it is more realistic than thinking we are on a flat plane and moving around. We have to keep pushing the ball up the hill.
Thanks for setting us straight.
Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..A Hello Video With A Booming Introduction
Hi Armen! I like the idea of the two elevator rides… that’s a great way to think about it. I think you’ve really touched on the “payment of effort”, required and worth cultivating. Sometimes my effort is slow and conscious, and sometimes my ball needs a forceful, swift kick in the you-know-what!
I just feel it is so important to focus and be totally happy with where you are right now. Being unhappy only causes blocks, totally love what you have accomplished so far and add to that, good or not so good there is always something to be learned. What you really have is always totally good, even if it is the education of not doing something that went wrong or negative again.
If you really want to succeed and get where you want faster get the mind set to fail forward fast. Not meaning to focus on failure, but to take massive action now, saver your great accomplishments and learn what not to do with your failures. Never be afraid of failure.
I am reading Innovate Like Edison right now by Michael J Galb. Did you know that Edison knew over 1000 ways not to invent the light bulb before success was accomplished. I’m hopeful that no one has to try 1000 times to accomplish anything. The point is that Edison’s imagination was so powerful when something didn’t work he saw another option to try.
I know no one personally that has this perseverance in today’s world. Even though Edison had another plan he worked focusing on where he was right then as to accomplish his task in the future. I don’t think Edison ever got bored or stuck.
Brad West ~ onomoney
Brad West´s last blog ..Confidence is Sexy
Hi Brad, I understand what you’re saying. I really do. The “stuck” I am referring to is sort of thought-based. I agree that it’s important to have a positive outlook and respect our accomplishments, to see the lessons in life and to be grateful. And focusing on being happy where we are right now is important, too.
I think, though, that on a “feeling” level (not really what I was referring to in my post, though that may not be clear) that unhappiness is very real. Human beings do suffer. People get sick, loved ones die. To me, to deny suffering or unhappiness is to get stuck emotionally (rather than mentally). I think feelings need to flow and be acknowledged, even when they aren’t positive. Getting caught up in resisting them, not wanting them, or wanting them to be different creates another form of stuck… maybe the’s the emotional type of block you’re referring to (of course, we don’t have to agree
) The good thing is that feelings are so fluid, they do pass, even the lousy ones, if we let them through.
There’s a lot of to be gained by not to letting fear of failure stop us. Edison, Einstein, these great individuals that accomplished so much with their imaginations were truly amazing. If they never felt bored or stuck, then that’s pretty special. Another way to look at is that maybe they did, and they learned how to get passed it, and that’s what made them so wise.
Awesome points Miche,
I think we agree I may be a little vague on my feelings and thoughts. By no means am I saying ignore anything, being aware of what encompass our very existence is super important. Always acknowledge everything you can that includes sickness, starvation and dieing especially when it is someone close. there are different ways that every individual deals with events “tragedies such as death” There are wounds from our past that unlike physical scars they can be completely healed.
When we stop feeling we stop dealing. Take from everything that happens in life Archive the negative and use the positive.
I think that Edison,and Einstein had an understanding of the power of thought above most. I think that most of us really have to work at what may have come natural to them. But that kind of thinking can be accomplished.
Brad West ~ onomoney
Brad West´s last blog ..Healthy Passionate Relationships
It’s so true that there’s no such thing as stasis. We’re either growing or we’re wasting. There is no in-between on this subject. The decision to always be growing takes commitment. Nice post!
Greg´s last blog ..How Being An Optimist Is Holding You Back
Hi Greg, welcome! Commitment and discipline are so important, great point. Sometimes the decision to grow is one we have to renew and remake daily, or even hourly, depending on what we’re faced with. Cheers, and thanks for dropping by and commenting!
When you are stuck, you’re actually moving backward. This is because no one will be waiting for you. Great article Miche.
Karlil´s last blog ..How To Be Lucky
Hi Karlil, thanks for stopping by!
@Brad, I think you’re right, we are saying the same things, just in different ways. Last night I kept thinking about your comment that “it’s so important to focus on being happy…” and thought to myself, Miche, did you miss that? It’s so human and so sweet, we need to do that… it is so important, and true.
Ok Miche, Now you opened up another can of worms. LOL! Imagination is so vital in ones life for even such simple things as to make plans for a vacation. We have established that. Taking the not so pleasurable such as a tragic death of a loved one and turning it into something good is very hard sometimes. But if you focus on the good and reason you feel what you are feeling great things can come of it. Maybe someone was real sick and suffering, their passing could be better for them. The feelings of not having them physically in your life are probably selfish. Not a bad thing being selfish, some great things come out of selfish ( I wrote about that in the commentluv post below, for some reason my comments are bigger than my posts sometimes.) As long of why you are feeling the way you do you are good to go. Feel things for you not for others the benefits are greater.
Thanks
Brad West ~ onomoney
Brad West´s last blog ..Personal Passion High Self Esteem
The interpretations of our mind always gets us stuck. Whatever is pre-programmed on our minds will be the basis of our imaginations. Unfortunately, we love to harbor the bitterness of the past than to explore that present, here is where we get stuck.
Hi Walter, thanks for chiming in! Mind “interpretations” is a good way to put it. Sometimes I get caught up in replaying the past, even if it’s just the day or the last conversation I had. When my imagination gets carried away with me, it’s usually embellishing a scenario that hasn’t happened yet, and likely never may happen, at least the way I’m imagining it. Realizing I’m getting caught up in that, and coming back to the present moment where it’s apparent that what I’m thinking is not real, always helps.
Interesting post. After reading through it I imediately started to think that stuck is a lot like being comfortable. Some people chose not to move on because they have reached their ultamite goal and they don’t set more.
People want to get a good paying job, work hard through years of school, then job experience. Then the goals they have are simple repetitive and get them stuck in life.
-pay the bills
-take care of the kids
-chores
-relax
It’s only a choice to be stuck or to move on, we constantly see doors, but we just chose to sit on the bench in the hall way between where we were and where you might like to explore.
Hi Mac, thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment! You bring up a great point about people not moving on because they’ve become comfortable. But then maybe they get uncomfortable with their situations, don’t have a new goal or dream, and then start to feel uncomfortable or stuck because of they lack a conscious direction. There are doors everywhere, but sometimes I think that even though they may be right in front of us, we don’t always see them.
Sounds true to me – the one real constant is change…
Hi Paul, thanks for stopping by! Your book look great… it’s definitely going on my reading list!
Hi Miche.. It’s my first visit here… Interesting post..I am guilty of this by the way. I need to exert more effort to re-focus my thoughts to something good and bettter..
cheers
Frugal Expat´s last blog ..Frugal Expat’s Budget Birthday Road Trip
Hi Frugal Expat, welcome, and thanks for leaving a comment! I’m guilty too, we are all. It seems thinking is just happening all the time, unless we cultivate a practice like meditation or something where we can get below the thought process. But otherwise, when we are thinking, which is most of the time, I think it’s great practice just to check in see what the heck our imaginations are doing… sometimes they get a little carried away!
From experience, I can definitely agree that we chain ourselves by mentally thinking “We can’t”, when in fact, we haven’t even tried!
It can be scary. However, thinking of ourselves as constantly growing and evolving can be a new window to something better.
Instead of being stuck in a rut, we are aware that we need to change things for the better, instead!
The Everyday Minimalist´s last blog ..Are you a Happy Victim?
Hi Minimalist! Thanks for stopping by… I like the idea of being stuck as being in a place where there is a “window to something better”… nice!
Miche´s last blog ..There Is No Such Thing As Stuck
Dear Miche, The thing I just love about this post is that you are extremely open to simply exploring all possibilities. You have NOT lock yourself or the reader into a set belief. Do you realize how rare that is? Most people go into life with set concepts, ideas, religious beliefs, all kinds of set thinking. I really admire and relate to your willingness to raise all kinds of possibilities. I am someone who is totally comfortable not having a set answer or belief structure. I just LOVE to explore and try on new ideas, feelings, insights and so on like hats and see how they feel to me. Kind of like the possibility you raise in the this post that we may NOT be able to stop imagination and that that in itself may be freedom. Beautiful Miche.
I also LOVE the so sweetly simple and yet HUGELY wise idea of looking inside and seeing how we’re feeling. And that we may need to focus on something else. I also feel that imagination may run away with us for another reason. Not only is it a survival tool probably built into us to help us prepare for the unseen, which keeps the species alive. BUT when imagination appears to be running away on us it can also be a tool, which offers us contrast.
If we can imagine something horrible happening to say a loved one, we might be more inclined to value them, not mistreat them and get our priorities in place. In light of that it doesn’t mean we have to forever wander waaaaaaay down the path of imagining our loved one lost, ill or dead, until we are in a state of utter despair and depression….no. But it does mean we can use this as tool to regain possible lost perspective on how much they mean to us.
Very beautiful post and writing.
I responded to your heartfelt comment on my post title: Five Perspective on Death. I was and AM very moved.
Robin Easton´s last blog ..When I Die I Want…
Hi Robin, I’m so glad you visited, and thank you for the kind comments! I like exploring new ideas, too, to see if there is any truth in them for me or for others. I was inspired to write this post after watching my own imagination “running away” with my thoughts, often in a direction which wasn’t very positive, though usually I feel imagination can be a very powerful and positive tool. You bring up a great point about the role imagination plays in compassion and empathy. I think when we can imagine something happening to a loved one, or that a loved one may be suffering, if we can connect those thoughts with our hearts, we can value people and our time with them more, and are them able to consciously recognize and be there in their time of need. I am enjoying your series on Death, and I’m heading over to your latest post to reread and leave a comment. You’re truly inspiring!