Valuing Fantasy

“Without having an outlet for your fantasy it’s hard to grow up and be mature... there’s no reason at all why people can’t remain young at least in their minds all their lives—there’s just no reason.”

~Gene Simmons of Kiss.

We can suppose this quote is about the freedom for development that wasn’t afforded people like Michael Jackson. Some kids were never allowed to be kids. Some never learned to embrace the fanciful side of life. (Equally, some stay there and never grow up!)

Our societies are none too welcoming of childish behaviour and at more serious times in history it’s actually been shunned. But this is the very necessary seedbed of childhood. It’s still important through the remainder of the lifespan.

Fantasy’s Paradox

There is an irony at play: the more room for fun and fantasy, the more maturity is found free for expression. It’s when we constrain fun, limiting freedom, that the maturation process is stunted.

No risk, no return. It’s a classic truth.

The same is said about love. Limit love in legalism (rules) and the freedom with which love normally thrives is strangled, and as it gasps for air it contorts into a different thing entirely. It returns not having fulfilled its potential. It proves disappointing. Love, this way, became too self-conscious.

Something Everyone Can Relate With

There are interactions where we just don’t ‘click’ with certain people. There’s some barrier and it’s irritating that we don’t know what it is or how to address it in the moment.

We’re found in a halfway land and we can’t improve the situation for the life of us. Then we go off feeling rather foolish or sheepish for not having tried harder.

Not giving way to some sensible fantasies is like the same thing. We feel awkward about them without entering into them. Then we go away regretting not taking those opportunities. We all need to play. But unlike our interaction that didn’t go right, not exploring the fantasy paved more personal regret, for we failed to listen to God’s whispering in our spirit. We forgot to listen to our needs, taking seriously the identity challenge at stake.

There are godly fantasies waiting within all of us, and our children, just waiting upon opportunity to break free to become expressed.

Fantasies are about who we are to become.

Let’s learn again the value of exploration; that mind-opening task that expands our thinking to the entire world.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.