The human brain is such an incredible organ that it is really difficult to comprehend. It is similar to outer space in that the more we learn about it the more there is to discover.
Imagination is a major area of learning and discovery. My imagination will not leave me alone and it seems to be constantly prodding or testing me. Looking back, I sometimes wish that I had used mine more regularly, rather than in a more ad-hoc way. My working life was largely based on practicalities and I never, for example, worked in the creative world. Now that my working life is almost over, I sense that I almost missed out on the creative genres of photography, music or film making. The irony is that I now seem to be more creative than at any other time!
So now it has reached a point where my
imagination is playing tricks and I’m uncertain
where it is all leading. The current game my
imagination is playing is named “The Doors”
and every day I see a long wall of doors of
different colours and some of them are enticing
while others are slightly ajar and others make
me feel threatened.
Crossroads are not difficult to handle but all
these doors can lead down dark paths. My
answer to all this is to closely examine the doors
one by one and then slowly open the most
appealing coloured one or the one that may
have beautiful path to walk along.
So, I opened a door a few hours ago and inside
it was all misty which then cleared away to reveal a waterfall tumbling and splashing. It looked like a grand European garden. I closed that door and opened the dark red one next to it. I was quite nervous for some reason, so I closed it again and gently edged open the door next it and peeped in to see a beautiful beach with perfect waves breaking. There weren’t any people on this beach so I couldn’t discover it’s name or where I was.
The next door was a glossy white and I was confident that this time I would find something valuable or exciting. The room was full of pre-school kids and it was noisy and busy. Lots of Mums were watching the children and they seemed concerned at seeing me there, so I backed out of the room and quietly closed the door.
The door that then appealed the most was a bright yellow and it felt warm just to look at it. Slowly the door opened and there was lots of shouting and yelling and high activity. I was looking at a training room full of AFL Richmond Tigers, so I joined a large group of supporters watching the action. An hour later I again closed the door and left.
I still hadn’t found the reason why I could see all these doors!
It didn’t make any sense!
Some days none of the doors enticed me but I opened a dull brown one and peered into a busy bar full of a big group of drinkers, all having a raucous time. Once again, I closed the door and returned home.
Later that night as bedtime was getting closer, I suddenly saw a new row of doors and went to investigate them. It was weird that all these doors were identical in size, style and colour. Puzzling! What am I being trained to do? Just take a gamble and walk through perhaps? After a deep breath, that is what I did. I opened the closest door and entered a beautiful garden. In the centre was a large, glittering sign saying “PERCEPTION”. Classical music by Sibelius was softly playing. I laid down on the soft grass and slept till the call of the magpies woke me. I was in my bed with the window open as was the bedroom door, even though I knew I had closed and locked it the night before.
My education of all the doors is now complete. My choice of which door is there waiting for me every morning and it never lets me down or creates uncertainty. The way is open for you to join. The Doors of Perception and Creativity are waiting for you!
John A Wilson, Gold Coast, January 2021
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