IMAGINE All the People Living for Today…

By Lilli Mayerson, Psychotherapist

Most of us remember John Lennon’s “Imagine” from 1971 as a message of hope for the world.  And most would agree that Lennon’s inspirational message rings truer than ever before.  At a recent webinar on Trauma and the Current Crisis, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, the Dutch psychiatrist who is well known for his research in the area of post traumatic stress, spoke of imagination as “central to recovery.” Dr. van der Kolk said that, “Without an inner imagination, there is no place to go.”

I believe most of us imagine naturally, often without effort, without even knowing it we imagine a “place” to go.  Perhaps you have imagined the return home to a partner or thought of reaching out to an old friend. Maybe you are considering a change of career or a plan to relocate.  Perhaps you are thinking about the next book you’d like to read or the class you’d like to register for.  It could be that you are thinking about picking up the sweater that you never finished knitting…or maybe you are spending  time online, envisioning  the cutest rescue puppy beside you on your couch… or simply, imagining, as one client shared, waking up to a breakfast of waffles and bacon.  Everyone can imagine.  We have the tools to imagine inside us already.

While practicing mindfulness, working to be present, can provide clarity and peace in the moment, it is the future at this time, that unfortunately, provides little clarity and little peace. It is therefore helpful for us to recognize the power of our imagination during a crisis.  Imagining can inspire, bring us joy and rays of hope.  To visualize, to imagine, can help to make it real.  Be kind to yourself now more than ever. Imagine.