I find that some people see enjoying different types of fiction as embarrassing.
And I think there’s definitely a slightly gendered/misogynistic and ageist aspect to that too, but it’s weird, right? Like, who are we to judge if someone finds something enjoyable that doesn’t hurt anyone?
I think the world wants us to believe that we should outgrow imagination.
But especially, in this digital age, I think imagination is what we need more than ever.
From a purely therapeutic perspective, fantasy is beautiful because it lets us…
- Process trauma from a distance
- Be our own heroes
- Rewrite our stories and negative beliefs about ourselves
- Creatively express our innermost thoughts and emotions
From my perspective? Creativity and imagination are some of the things that make us most human.
My partner and I are part of a Filipino book club in Detroit that reads and talks about Filipino and Indigenous traditions and beliefs. One thing that S. Lily Mendoza and Dr. Jim Perkinson have on many occasions shared with us is that in some Indigenous cultures, they believe that the way we “feed the gods” is through our creation of art, of beauty, of the fantastic.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot because I recently found myself getting back into an old interest from my childhood – Lord of the Rings. There’s an online game that takes you through the quests of the Fellowship and allows you to even interact with those dear and favorite characters, from Legolas to Aragorn, and of course, your favorite hobbits: Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam.
And isn’t it a wonderful thing to immerse yourself in a world of wonder?
I think a lot of adults lose our “sparkle” and perspective of wonder on the world because we get tired.
Student loans, bad politics, laundry, and doing your taxes have a funny way of stripping people of their joie de vivre.
But honestly, at any stage of life, wonder and awe matter.
Dr. Anne Basting, founder of Creative Care[1], a new and revolutionary approach towards eldercare, has this to say:
Awe brings us together into a shared moment that connects us in the face of something vast and inspires us to rethink what we thought we knew.
Anne basting
Like gratitude, it’s one of those things that I think is part of the secret to living – not just getting stuck in what Kerry Biskelonis, LPC, RYT calls “Hypnosis Highway.”
And fantasy can be such a great way to tap into that sense of wonder. Exploring or imagining a new and different world isn’t just a novel experience – it’s how we make sense of the world around us. And digging deeper, wonder once again brings us back to our sense of gratitude.
What is a good life?
I think it can look different for everyone.
It’s easy to complain, to see the bad. In some ways and for some people, I even think it’s easier and more natural that seeing the good.
Actually, Tara Schuster[2], a very reluctant gratitude journaler, had this to say about the experience of cultivating a gratitude practice:
Gratitude flips the narrative of ‘I am not enough’ or ‘I don’t have enough’ and shows you, on paper, how much good you really do have in and around you.
Of course, gratitude is real. But sometimes, what we need is a new perspective to help see the glimmers in the world.
So bring on the fairies, the whimsy, every delightful, very-not-real story – I want to soak it all in.
*Disclaimer: Just because I quoted an author does not necessarily mean that I believe with all of views on world issues.
2 Works Cited
1. Basting, A. (2020). Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Eldercare. Open source
2. Schuster, T. (2020). Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies. Open source
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