The Adult Imagination

Imagination, perhaps I would best describe it as the way a person can create an image in their mind that eases, solves, or predicts a circumstance. Children play with dragons and dance with fairies in their spare time between learning their numbers and abc’s. What’s more is that adults commend these kids for their use of imaginations. How they can be so oblivious to all that’s around them and they can just imagine what we would call whimsy. Children dream up and create the most amusing and comforting stories and it touches an adults heart to hear little Sally talk about the adventures she went on with Bob her imaginary friend. As a child grows up and he or she is determined to give up such a world where the sky can be pink, parents and other adults in the child’s life egg-on the idea of letting Bob go. When the child doesn’t want to let Bob disappear into the catacombs in the brain the parent thinks perhaps something is wrong. A diagnosis is needed for Sally and yet, her parents lives seem a bit more trying than the eight year olds mind made friend.


Adults are the most severe pretenders. They lie to save their hide, they smile at the boss so they won’t lose their jobs, and they create environments they wish to portray themselves as, rather than displaying their true selves. Some may read this incredulously but its often you the “vente latte- consuming” and the “whole foods crazed” that pretend the most. A friend of mine told me how much she hated her job. She could go on for days about the intensity in which she hated her coworkers and how unpleasant they were. It was quite soon after this that I picked her up from work so that we could go shopping afterwards. I sat patiently waiting for her last minutes of work to end. She wore a collared shirt and high wasted skirt get up that was obviously all the rage in secretarial attire. Mind you, this friend of mine made jokes about the high wasted skirt. She pranced around with all her teeth showing in a “how can I help you smile?” When her coworkers addressed her they smiled accommodatingly and when she addressed them she smiled, joshed, and made witty small talk. What a different environment I had thought this would be upon approaching the office. The amount of imagination these women had to use must have hurt their brains by the way that my friend described them to me. She was a pretender herself but how could she help it, all that was around her was this whimsical fairy tale of fake politeness and manners.


Now perhaps her example is a bit extreme to what your’s may be but this deception is made by so many people. We all can turn on the illusion and act like we belong on stage when it suits us and most of us use this power to deceive and manipulate. Most people say I just want to keep a healthy environment but what’s healthy about the constant lie you create and all the falseness in the life you live. If 8 year old Sally should have to get rid of her very best imaginary friend then you should get rid of your imaginary issues as well. As far as I’m concerned adults are the very best pretenders.