Imagination- Good...or bad?

Think about it...is imagination good? Is it bad? It's true, without creativity and innovation, we'd still be afraid of fire and hunting animals and gathering berries to survive. But, I'm not speaking of such times. Think about now. Think about your childhood. Mighty princes, powerful heroes who seemed to always get the girl (or if you're the Red Power-Ranger, guy), and wizards/elves have filled our eager minds with such lavish happiness. But, doesn't all this fantasy hurt us in the end? I can recall the day I found out Santa Claus was fictitious. The pain. The disappointment. The world of fantasy is nothing but false hopes...or is it? Is the mere images worth the pain? Is the temporary joy worth the stabbing pain?

Take for instance...Iron Man, Superman, and all the other millions and millions of superheroes. Is it REALLY possible for us to be bitten by radio-active, enhanced spiders, thus giving us super-human strengths and web-slinging abilities. No...in fact, I'd say the p-value for something like that happening is less than 2%. Thus, making it improbable...not IMPOSSIBLE, but improbable. But then, why do we(well, most of us, I think) like things such as these? What makes us humans like fantasy fiction....curiosity? Ambition? Innovation? Who knows...but is it really worth the let down?

Another example, my best friend Charlie dreams to be the creator of true Artificial Intelligence. Without innovation and curiosity, would he have the drive to do such a thing? Without computer-science stories/fantasy, would his dreams be possible? Though I know he will, in the end, do said dream, what about the others? What about those out there who dream of flying in space, though defying gravity is not possible for them? What about those who dream to be the President--because their mommies and daddies said they could do whatever they wish?

Sometime ago, Charlie couldn't remember any of his dreams. I know he has been getting better at remembering...but I've always wanted to ask. Was he happy that he didn't dream? Was it better to be realistic? Just another man in a gray suit? I constantly dream. Sometimes, I dream in mid-sentence...and I space off on different tangents...only to be succumbed to the reality in which I live. I for one, always wanted to be a Jedi, a superhero, the smartest man alive, etc etc etc....depends on the time. While growing up, shows like Power- Rangers, Pokemon, Yugioh, etc etc sparked my interest. But, now looking back on them, have they really helped me? Or have they let me down....somehow? Is it better to be black and white, or to have the gray- the uncertain, the ambiguity, the anticipation? Or is it truly better to be ignorant...does not ignorance create bliss?

I for one, have an 'artist' mind. I see gray, the unknown, the illogical...but should I train my eyes to see things just as they are? Should I just accept the fact 1+1=2, no matter how much my heart says...'but what if...?' Its true, even Shakespeare would agree...the heart is indeed the strongest muscle, but it is also the weakest. The heart sees the world so much differently than the brain ( to understand my reference better, see- The Clod and the Pebble, it is a poem(google it). Scientist hate everything gray...whereas artists strive on such worlds. As Mr. McCloskey put it- " A scientist will write a word, and have it mean exactly one definition, whereas a poet will write a word, and have that said word mean two, three, or more things...such as 'lies,' 'hard,' and 'cold.'" I think that's true. Many of my scientific friends hate it when I say something, and they are not able to understand the hidden truths behind my words. Charlie would say a sentence and mean exactly that. I.e.- " My cat is big." Whereas my sentence would be- " My cat is big." Perhaps I mean big as in fat...or big in spirit....or big in heart...etc etc. Don't we all have different meanings of the word 'love?' Some of us, the word love is hard to say, whereas, in others, it rolls off their tongue. Does it the word's meaning change with the amount of usage? If I say the word love' five hundred times a day, do I mean it any less than the girl who says it once? I guess that's for you to decide...

My point is this...is the high worth the low? Is the disappointment worth the distraction? Is the pain worth the healing? Just think about it...

I know for me...the high will always be worth the low. I will always follow my heart, no matter what my brain is screaming at me. It's just my nature. I am powered by my heart, my soul, my dreams...but sometimes I wonder if I should end all that...but then, just as I'm about to dissemble my world, my dreams, my compassion, my heart presents a new dream...a sweet dream...one that makes my body light...as I'm flying past the roaring comets, the rings of Saturn, the blackness of space...

-Toph