Crisis of Imagination

Little Jane comes to us in tears. "I wished Tommy would get hurt, and he did. But I didn't mean it." We comfort little Jane, wanting her to know that she is not responsible for the accident that happened to Tommy. And we are partially right. But only partially. The essential intuition of the child needs to be validated and not explained away. Our kids need to know that they are powerful. They can re-imagine the world. For good or for evil, to hurt or to heal.

Imagination is essential to responsibility. We need to nurture our infancy, our in-fancy, to encourage its power rather then undermine it with scoffing and ridicule. It is for this reason that we intuitively look for our children to create a better tomorrow for all of us. Hebrew tradition interprets the word banim to mean both "children" and "builders."

Children are always building imaginary realms, constructing fortresses and castles with such exquisite imaginary aptitude. Dashing around as superheroes, saving banks from robbers and the like, is the lifeblood of children.

We have long since forgotten our true nature as agents of transformation. We have forgotten that we are superheroes. Eaten away by moths, our capes are long forgotten at the backs of our closets. Birds don't fly because they have wings, they have wings because they fly. We are what we imagine ourselves to be. The wings always come in good time. We need to reclaim our capes of holy imagination and heal our fear of flying.