Monday, September 22, 2008

What's In Your Head?


There have been several times this week where I’ve heard a fabulous word around me and it seemed the right time to put it in my blog.

Imagination.

In one instance, I heard a disc jockey talking to a listener about his disappointment when a situation didn’t meet his expectations.

In another case, a friend of mine was talking about her birthday and all the fun things that happened on her special day. Although it was great, it wasn’t what she hoped…what she imagined.

At CERN a couple weeks ago, everyone was thrilled at the prospect of smashing particles together. Their imaginations ran wild with all the possibilities. Amy left a comment on last week’s blog saying that her friend was very excited about CERN starting up.

She should be.

So why do we have a habit of looking beyond? Why is it never enough? Why aren’t we ever satisfied?

Imagination is a double-edged sword. It gives us our hopes and dreams, but sometimes takes us beyond reality. We are disappointed with that reality.

Imagination leads us to create—it gives wings to our ideas. Yet, in those wings, we sometimes forget that our imagination keeps us in chains through disappointment.
So why do we have imagination?

I believe that God gave us our imaginations in hopes that we would use them to imagine His love for us and for creation. To know creation, to understand how particles smash together, is to know God. To me, that’s the real draw of science.

What is really mind-boggling is the fact that God is the one thing that our imaginations can never completely grasp. We will never seize all that is our Creator—yet that means that we will never be disappointed.

Those who are disappointed with “religion” are really just disappointed with themselves. They can’t see past their shortcomings. They can’t imagine that God loves them.

So I say, go ahead CERN, smash those proton particles together, make it happen. God will not let you down. Whatever you find will blow you away.

Just remember whatever you find is only limited by your imagination…not God’s. And just remember to be thankful that as scientists you really are looking for God. You just don’t know it.

3 comments:

Jan Parrish said...

Great post. Like all things, if used correctly, it can cause harm. Perhaps if we are born with a warning stamped onto our foreheads....

D. Gudger said...

Reminds me of all the anxious terror building up to Y2K - and here we are! Smashed protons and all :)

I love your scientific slant on things. Helps me get in touch with my past yearning of physicianhood.

Robbie Iobst said...

Just like most of God's creations, my imagination can be perverted by my lack of faith in God. I used to use my imagination to daydream of greatness or lust after movie stars or create a world in which my husband would be exactly what I wanted him to be. All caused disappointment, like you said. Now I try although I am not quite verse in this, but I try to use my imagination to see how Jesus loves others and me. I use my imagination to achieve the goals that I think God wants me to go for. The freedom of my new focus is exhilerating!
I have a lot to say about this cause you got me thinking, Loretta! Great post!