During my youth, my friends and I didn't understand the reality that existed in our lives. We would pretend so hard to be anything except ourselves. Our favourite conversation on a hot summer night when you could smell the aroma of fried chicken or catfish in the air drifting through the windows of the housing project was, what will you be when you grow up. Regardless of the numerous times this had been discussed, the twinkle in each of our eyes always shined through with excitement. When it was my turn to share, I stood up with confidence and proclaimed that I would be the first Black President of the United States. There was a moment of silence with looks of surprise, then we all screamed with laughter and rolled around wrestling with each other on the grass. The week before I had announced that I would be the first Black Astronaut to land on the moon.
As we moved into our teen years we would continue to gather and pretend we were someone else and convince each other that the we could excel to anything we wanted to be with ease. Deep down inside we didn't believe it, but felt that in order to stay positive we must continue to live in our imaginations. It didn't take long to realise that a force existed whose job was to make sure that we didn't have an imagination. That force had many names. Some of the names were the police force, the Ku Klux Klan, preachers, and white supremacists. No matter where we went or what we did we were constantly reminded that we were nothing more than the colour of our skin. The strong ones survived, but many of my friends didn't live long enough to make their dreams, our dreams of them, come true.
Life has a way of teaching you, regardless of how young or old you are, very tough lessons. The hardest lesson for me was accepting and living in reality, as much as I didn't want to at the time. I learned that reality varies and is different for all us. It all depends on our perception of what's happening at a certain time in our lives. Each of our perceptions of the way we experience life, a certain situation or an interaction with another person becomes our reality because that's what we tell ourselves. Through the arse kicking experiences of life, I now know that those perceptions, as real as they may feel today, may not be factual if we take a closer and deeper look. Sometimes our egos or arrogance may get in the way of being able to focus on something different than ourselves.
Allegedly in 1815, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, "Few people have the imagination for reality." The first time I saw this quote, I actually had to take a seat and think deeply about the message. Initially I thought it was a quote to play with my mind. After digging around and doing a bit of research I discovered the meaning. Goethe believed that, "Reality is so mind blowing, that most people, on their best day, could never imagine reality to be so beyond what we now can imagine." I often think of all the years I spent in universities getting a Bachelor and Master degree where we as students were never taught the truth about imagining reality. Mostly we were taught to regurgitate what professors would say in their lecture in order to pass the exams. If we dared disagreed or expressed our opinion, professors usually gave you a nasty look and a grade of C-, which meant you would have to take another class with someone else.Very sad times that were lost when I remember that my mind was like a sponge begging to enter the water. Eventually we learned to keep our opinions to ourselves and to puke up information exactly the way it was stated in the lecture. It was the only way most of us survived long enough to graduate.
One of my professors that I will never forgot was simply amazing. His name was Dr. Perkins and he was honest, passionate about the topic, spoke the truth, and used humour in all of his lectures. I admired him because he taught me critical thinking skills and how to think outside of the box. He taught us how to use our brain for thinking and solving difficult problems. Each class reminded me of a debate. It was like overloading on caffeine at a time when I didn't drink coffee. Through admiration, I decided to add Urban Planning as my second major. It seemed like a good match to my major in Education. Geography was my minor. Dr. Perkins was delighted. He taught us the reality and lack of competence in the field of urban planning. Every day I am confronted with how the lack of planning in most major cities has never benefited the consumer driving to work or simply walking around neighbourhoods.
On a personal note, dealing with another lockdown of COVID always seem to knock the wind out of me. Everything that's happening around the world is exactly the way I imagined today's reality to present itself. Although I am not surprised or shocked by any of the episodes, I am disappointed in leaders in government across the world putting themselves and their political parties first before taking care of the people they were elected or hired to protect. My crystal clear imagination of reality is working overtime. We don't have to be a genius to understand the advertising mistakes that are being used by government officials. As a public relations and marketing practitioner for 20+ years, it's evident that imagination is absent from those recommending disaster advertising campaigns in an effort to line their pockets for more money while those being impacted by misinformation and lies about COVID continue to infect others or die. There are days that I wish my imagination would disappear so that I couldn't see all the reality around me. Have you ever felt that way in your lifetime?
If often think of so many people who refuse to get vaccinated because of their beliefs or the fake news to frighten masses of people. My imagination for reality of this segment frightens me because there is only one conclusion. Everyone has the right to their own personal opinion when it comes to getting vaccinated or not, and I respect their choice to risk infection of themselves and others. It's not a discussion or argument that I am willing to have with anyone who has made their decision. Besides, it would be a waste of time.
On a positive note, it's time that we all start to focus on the important things in our lives today. It may involve cleaning the lens of our glasses, washing the windows for a clearer view, shaking the cobwebs out of our minds, or being brave enough to turn the page to the next chapter of your life that we are writing today. My focus is on those that I love and care about all over the world. I am aware that I can't change the view of the world, but I can brighten the view in my world. We all have the power and strength to decide what's next.
So, what are you focusing on this year?
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