Become a grounded dreamer

A grounded dreamer is a person who can see what nobody else can see, something non-existent, and yet is able to consider what is practical and bring it to reality. A person who can go back and forth from imagination and memories to the real world.

An individual who has found a tricky balance. She avoids the short vision that comes from not seeing beyond what is, but also avoids the spiraling madness that comes from living in Wonderland.

We can also benefit from this endless resource. Whether for art or for more practical purposes, we will find interesting ideas, concepts, perspectives, and new approaches.

We can also get the best from both worlds, if we are willing to look for ideas and how to make them real. We can be grounded dreamers.

Touching the intangible

Imagination gives us a glimpse of what doesn’t exist, or what has ceased to exist. Without firsthand experience, we can invent anything. We are here now, but if we close our eyes, our minds can take us anywhere, and it’s wild to think that we can jump back and forth between them. We can have red skies, talk about shoes for our minds, be a bird or a wolf.

Any “What if…” is at our hand’s reach, solutions yet to be invented, situations yet to happen, art that has not been conceived. The limit to what we can hold in our imagination is only dictated by our ability to conceive it.

Memory is a great starting point for our imagination. Depending on our talent to observe, we don’t have to invent anything; all the details are in our minds. When I walk by this street, I see the night, the trees, and I smell the salt in the air, but memories call me to a different time and place, different people pass by, and the sun is up in the sky. Some memories are so strong they don’t need triggers.

Whether real or fictional, imagination detaches us from what is and where we are, and gives us access to an endless resource. Moments of inspiration, happiness, turning points in our lives, as well as the bitter and sour.

Artists need all colors, not only the bright ones. This is also true for disciplines such as engineering. From this cumulus of experience and endless possibilities can come solutions to problems, new perspectives, and revolutionary visions. Everyone would benefit from looking beyond what is.

However, that is exactly what we can lose.

Flying too close to the sun

We may not know our way down to earth.

Imagination is so sweet that it can work as an escape when we don’t like our reality, and so we get ourselves deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.

Seeds need soil. Our art can’t be admired if it’s only in our minds. The deep dive with no return from imagination is like having a bunch of paint, canvas, and ideas, and not painting. The solutions and perspectives we gain would be for nothing if we fail to land these on solid ground.

Memories have the same danger. The dear ones can represent a resting place when the path is rough, but we have something here and now, and we may waste it by being in a different place. The harsh ones are part of who we are, but they can be intrusive. Every time they come, it amounts to living that sourness again.

So, beyond being pleasant or unpleasant, we can’t live in a cloud castle.

We need to find a way to bring the enormous resource that imagination represents into reality.

Transition from ideal to real

We must orchestrate both worlds in a way that we can transition from one to the other.

The trick with imagination is to have a loose scope. The creative process is similar to gathering materials; as we don’t know how much we will need, we gather as much as we can. Filters and limitations will ruin the whole process, but a loose scope, having a particular subject, desire, or goal in mind, would allow our imagination to move freely in the direction we want.

We ask, “If everything were possible, what would we do?” What do we do with this raw emotion? Is it material for a song? A story, poem, or essay? Should we suppress their intensity or enhance it? Should we make it rational or emotional? As for practical problems, what is everyone else ignoring? Is it really a problem? Can it be turned around? What have we not tried yet?

We must keep track of all our ideas. There is not a single one that is so silly or absurd that it renders it unworthy of being treasured.

Then we switch the eyes with which we see our ideas. If we were gathering raw materials, now is the time to refine them. We need to ask how we plan to execute them, and a crucial part is not label ideas as impossible or impractical immediately. These creative ideas are unconventional, and it’s only natural that their execution will also be atypical. We are being challenged, as artists or engineers, to solve the what and how. If our ideas can’t meet our criteria, we just bring more.

When we succeed in bridging imagination with reality, our ideas will not be what we envisioned. This product of our mind has developed in the transition, with time and effort, and we may even like the outcome better.

Feet on the ground, head in the clouds

We need to expand our imagination for its own sake. Allow yourself to have silly ideas and keep a playful nature. Then, when we need this powerful resource, we can have an easier time bringing ideas, finding creative solutions, and unique perspectives. Everyone would benefit from adding more of their unique worlds to the things they do.

However, we must not forget that we can’t live in a cloud castle. We avoid the spiraling madness that would be only living in dreams. We need to come back here, accept the challenge we are dealing with, and think of practical ways to bridge imagination and reality.

That is how we become grounded dreamers. We look beyond what is, see endless possibilities, and find a way to bring it down to earth. Sometimes we are successful, other times we aren’t. Still, we keep honing our keen eye.