Unlocking your imagination can be one of the greatest exercises for your brain. Not only does it get your creative juices flowing, but it allows you to utilize your brain in a variety of fun ways. As one small example, you can create a variety of different worlds and scenarios in your head that, not only have you never been to, but neither has anyone else. For me, it is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic remedies that I can give myself, especially when I'm going through a rough time.
I daydream quite a lot, actually and I find myself venturing off to the Caribbean with Captain Jack Sparrow or searching for treasure aboard sunken ships with Princess Ariel. Sometimes I even end up in the settings of the books that I'm writing at the moment. It all depends but each one is just as enjoyable and freeing as the next one.
A lot of people that I meet tell me that they wish that they could be a writer like me because they would have so much fun with it. They wish that they could tap into their brains and pull out the creativity that they feel is stuck there and just roll with it. It's easier than many people would think. You just have to let go and let your mind work it's magic. I encourage it with people because writing and exploring my imagination has opened my eyes to millions of things that I had never previously considered.
Now, I consider myself the female embodiment of Peter Pan and I legitimately mean that. I live with that same youthful spirit inside of me, refusing to let go of my energetic inner child. I live for silly moments and belly laughter. Life is too short to be serious or pretend that adults don't have a ton of fun left inside of them.
I think that we can all learn a little something from a trip to Neverland, a place where nothing is impossible and strange things are normal, a place where a little of bit of faith, trust and pixie dust can make everyone in the world fly. I think that people get a little too serious about life and they forget the wonderful things that exist in fantasy worlds or even their own imaginations. For me, I make sure that I find time to get my necessary dose of Disney World and things get better. This is not to say that you should never be serious or that serious people are boring. I just want to encourage people to express themselves in a creative outlet and explore unfamiliar territory in their minds.
Let's call your imagination "Neverland" and remember your childhood, when you used to build forts with your siblings and pretend to be pirates in the living room. "Those were the days" you would probably say, whereas I would say, "I think I'll build a fort today," or, "Even when I'm 40 years old, I'll still build forts with my husband." Your adventures never have to stop and once they start over, they don't have to end again.
Spieling Peter Pan, otherwise known as Andrew Ducote, is one of my personal heroes. He played Peter Pan at Disneyland in California for a few years and was (and still is) the true Peter Pan. (Just watch some of his YouTube videos and you'll know what I'm talking about. They're quite comical.) In one of my favorite Spieling videos, he comes up with a new motto where he says, "Keep adventuring and stay not a grown up."
Although it's not grammatically correct, it may be the best advice that has ever been given to anyone. You don't have to grow up just because you age and you should still be in touch with the person inside of you who isn't embarrassed to be silly or even a little bit crazy sometimes. It's what makes life fun, makes it worthwhile.
Growing up is overrated and many people will tell you that. In fact, in my wedding vows I promised my husband that we will grow older together but we'll never grow up and I meant that. I want us to never forget the young, fun, Disney couple that we were when we fell in love. And we won't.
Dr. Seuss has a book entitled, Oh, the Places You'll Go! which was actually the inspiration for this blog. So the next time that you're feeling stressed or are having a bad day, you could listen to Dr. Seuss and spend some time in your imagination and discover new worlds or you could fly with Peter Pan to Neverland and learn to be a kid again. The choice is yours. Just remember: "Keep adventuring and stay not a grown up!"
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