Today I fell in love with a song. It's an old song from my childhood called "Pure Imagination." Gene Wilder sings it in his role as Willy Wonka. It's at the point where the children, touring the Wonka Factory, encounter the completely edible garden known as "The Chocolate Room." My favorite versions of the song are at the bottom of this post.
Now, I have always loved Willy Wonka. It's right up there with Peter Pan, and Narnia. Whole worlds right under our noses. Places where anything can and will happen, tucked ever so delicately away in seemingly everyday ordinary places. But today I listened to an instrumental version of this song, and it simply touched me. Many people call the movie an "acid trip." And I'd be hard-pressed to disagree, although my acid experience is nil. Mr. Wonka pushed his guests to the point of breakdowns, by simply exposing them to his unadulterated mind, his unfettered imagination. He gave them what they wanted, and they decided they didn't want it anymore. That's the real catch. Pure Imagination requires a level of belief that most human beings simply don't operate from. It's deeper than Creativity. Creativity helps us look at things that already exist in a different way; reimagine them, reshape them, improve them, fix them. Imagination is the god that Creativity bows down to. Pure Imagination creates from nothing. It fills empty rooms with strange and marvelous universes. It fashions whole beings out of inanimate objects. It is a life force. Children know this. They are masters at imagination, because when you are young, you just don't care enough about other people's views of you. And you don't know enough about what society thinks is right or wrong. Imagination is everything for children. But for the simple, fettered individual, it creeps them the hell out.
Why the creep factor? Well, there are lot's of reasons. Real unfettered Imagination, once shared, almost always involves exposing people to change, and to the unknown. The unrealized. The unactualized. Societally, we have been notoriously uncomfortable with that- with facing things we know nothing about. We are obsessed with categorizing, explaining, naming, controlling, and identifying. It is the self-same nature that causes us to glorify "structured" and "safe" religion, but lock people up for seeing "angels." Especially when we ourselves cannot see them. Also, pure imagination is neither good nor bad. Which means it doesn't stop at cute and cuddly. To truly live in imagination means including the exploration of the dark, the dangerous, the uncomfortable. It's pulling back the curtain that we hide so comfortably behind. It's crawling under the bed with the monsters. It's asking to see Dracula's fangs. It's finding solace in the straightjacket. It's losing control.
We are not a society that truly thrives on losing control. I believe in my heart that this lack of belief is to our detriment. It's why "artists" are always stereotyped as drug abusers. I cannot tell you how many people assume I smoke weed, or take X, and look a little miffed when I speak so ill of either. The career of the artist requires imagination, and in large quantities. If we simply fostered a culture that embraced losing control, and learned how to use that as a power, instead of viewing it as a weakness, perhaps so many of my human brethren wouldn't need drugs to escape. They could escape into their own mind. But even this escape creeps people out.
I love fairies. Angels. Mythology. Mermaids. Unicorns. Never Never Lands and Portals to "Other" Places (like Wardrobes and Rabbit Holes). I also like Vampires. Demons. Werewolves, Witches, and Halloween. Halloween is in fact my favorite holiday, and my religiously conservative friends simply don't understand. One of my favorite shows involves a species of creatures living amongst humans in secret. I remember my mom once saying "don't watch that stuff. It gets into your spirit." I laughed, thinking to myself that is exactly how I feel watching the evening news. Thing is, it's all the same to me. It's all fanciful and imaginative. It doesn't GET into my spirit. It COMES from my spirit. But the masses don't feel comfortable with that. How can something so seemingly "creepy" and "dark" come from something good? So I must be bad, or dark. Well not me exactly. Im sure my mom doesn't think I am creepy. Not totally. ;-)
It's difficult to walk around with whole universes inside of you, itching to get out. Every time I open my mouth, I must first assess if the audience I'm speaking to can handle the depth of unknown I am prepared to present. This is because I am not yet brave enough to simply cast away all concern for others. I salute those who can and do express themselves for the sake of freedom, but many of them still had to start out with some limitation and "appropriation", in order to catch the attention of the masses. Being this way is a gift and a curse. It's a gift because my mind is the most colorful getaway I can imagine. It's a gift for reasons I can never really explain to you. It's a curse because I live in society. People want my imagination cutely packaged for their enjoyment. They don't want me to "go too far." Or else it becomes perversion, obsession, or something psycho-socially errant. But the irony is that pure imagination is far from perversion. It is a powerful force.
This is my favorite stanza in the song. It suggests that the world itself is a thing of paradise and beauty. The stuff of dreams; that in order to truly capture the magic of imagination, all we must bring to the table is our own mind, and truly experience the wonders of the world. It's back to that "pull back the curtain" idea. It suggests that the magic we seek in the world is already here, and all we must do is be open to the possibility. The possibility of what? Well... Of everything.
Imagination will always be a legend amongst men. Da Vinci. Disney. The earliest priests or "founders" of every religion. Einstein. Picasso. Imagination will make you an outcast. It will make you unpopular. But it just might make you famous. And eventually revered. Not so much for the imagination itself, but for what you are able to do with it that people appreciate. To all my Imaginarians... Fear not. You are not alone. The masses may never embrace your talent. except as it pleases and benefits them. But never doubt that it is indeed a talent. It is the stuff of THEE Creator; the Capital Letter Creator. Never reject your imagination. Let it fill you with life. It is freedom! It is mania! Keep thinking. Keep imagining. Keep Creating.
Creep 'Em Out.
~L
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." ~Albert Einstein
“Everything you can imagine is real.” ~Pablo Picasso
“Fairy tales had been her first experience of the magical universe, and more than once she had wondered why people ended up distancing themselves from that world, knowing the immense joy that childhood had brought to their lives.” ~Paulo Coelho
“Children see magic because they look for it.” ~Christopher Moore (Author)
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself." ~William Blake
These two versions of "Pure Imagination" are my favorite modern versions.
Fiona Apple for Chipotle
Maroon 5
Now, I have always loved Willy Wonka. It's right up there with Peter Pan, and Narnia. Whole worlds right under our noses. Places where anything can and will happen, tucked ever so delicately away in seemingly everyday ordinary places. But today I listened to an instrumental version of this song, and it simply touched me. Many people call the movie an "acid trip." And I'd be hard-pressed to disagree, although my acid experience is nil. Mr. Wonka pushed his guests to the point of breakdowns, by simply exposing them to his unadulterated mind, his unfettered imagination. He gave them what they wanted, and they decided they didn't want it anymore. That's the real catch. Pure Imagination requires a level of belief that most human beings simply don't operate from. It's deeper than Creativity. Creativity helps us look at things that already exist in a different way; reimagine them, reshape them, improve them, fix them. Imagination is the god that Creativity bows down to. Pure Imagination creates from nothing. It fills empty rooms with strange and marvelous universes. It fashions whole beings out of inanimate objects. It is a life force. Children know this. They are masters at imagination, because when you are young, you just don't care enough about other people's views of you. And you don't know enough about what society thinks is right or wrong. Imagination is everything for children. But for the simple, fettered individual, it creeps them the hell out.
Why the creep factor? Well, there are lot's of reasons. Real unfettered Imagination, once shared, almost always involves exposing people to change, and to the unknown. The unrealized. The unactualized. Societally, we have been notoriously uncomfortable with that- with facing things we know nothing about. We are obsessed with categorizing, explaining, naming, controlling, and identifying. It is the self-same nature that causes us to glorify "structured" and "safe" religion, but lock people up for seeing "angels." Especially when we ourselves cannot see them. Also, pure imagination is neither good nor bad. Which means it doesn't stop at cute and cuddly. To truly live in imagination means including the exploration of the dark, the dangerous, the uncomfortable. It's pulling back the curtain that we hide so comfortably behind. It's crawling under the bed with the monsters. It's asking to see Dracula's fangs. It's finding solace in the straightjacket. It's losing control.
We are not a society that truly thrives on losing control. I believe in my heart that this lack of belief is to our detriment. It's why "artists" are always stereotyped as drug abusers. I cannot tell you how many people assume I smoke weed, or take X, and look a little miffed when I speak so ill of either. The career of the artist requires imagination, and in large quantities. If we simply fostered a culture that embraced losing control, and learned how to use that as a power, instead of viewing it as a weakness, perhaps so many of my human brethren wouldn't need drugs to escape. They could escape into their own mind. But even this escape creeps people out.
I love fairies. Angels. Mythology. Mermaids. Unicorns. Never Never Lands and Portals to "Other" Places (like Wardrobes and Rabbit Holes). I also like Vampires. Demons. Werewolves, Witches, and Halloween. Halloween is in fact my favorite holiday, and my religiously conservative friends simply don't understand. One of my favorite shows involves a species of creatures living amongst humans in secret. I remember my mom once saying "don't watch that stuff. It gets into your spirit." I laughed, thinking to myself that is exactly how I feel watching the evening news. Thing is, it's all the same to me. It's all fanciful and imaginative. It doesn't GET into my spirit. It COMES from my spirit. But the masses don't feel comfortable with that. How can something so seemingly "creepy" and "dark" come from something good? So I must be bad, or dark. Well not me exactly. Im sure my mom doesn't think I am creepy. Not totally. ;-)
It's difficult to walk around with whole universes inside of you, itching to get out. Every time I open my mouth, I must first assess if the audience I'm speaking to can handle the depth of unknown I am prepared to present. This is because I am not yet brave enough to simply cast away all concern for others. I salute those who can and do express themselves for the sake of freedom, but many of them still had to start out with some limitation and "appropriation", in order to catch the attention of the masses. Being this way is a gift and a curse. It's a gift because my mind is the most colorful getaway I can imagine. It's a gift for reasons I can never really explain to you. It's a curse because I live in society. People want my imagination cutely packaged for their enjoyment. They don't want me to "go too far." Or else it becomes perversion, obsession, or something psycho-socially errant. But the irony is that pure imagination is far from perversion. It is a powerful force.
This is my favorite stanza in the song. It suggests that the world itself is a thing of paradise and beauty. The stuff of dreams; that in order to truly capture the magic of imagination, all we must bring to the table is our own mind, and truly experience the wonders of the world. It's back to that "pull back the curtain" idea. It suggests that the magic we seek in the world is already here, and all we must do is be open to the possibility. The possibility of what? Well... Of everything.Creep 'Em Out.
~L
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." ~Albert Einstein
“Everything you can imagine is real.” ~Pablo Picasso
“Fairy tales had been her first experience of the magical universe, and more than once she had wondered why people ended up distancing themselves from that world, knowing the immense joy that childhood had brought to their lives.” ~Paulo Coelho
“Children see magic because they look for it.” ~Christopher Moore (Author)
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself." ~William Blake
These two versions of "Pure Imagination" are my favorite modern versions.
Fiona Apple for Chipotle
Maroon 5
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