In Your Mind's Eye

Each and every human being on this planet is likely to spend 47% of their time daydreaming. That's OK though...because, apparently, spending time lost in the dream land makes us more creative and intelligent.
As well as that, a huge portion of the human brain supposedly spends a lot of time thinking up perfect scenarios for us to imagine ourselves living through.

Is that a good thing though?

I think yes. :)
I mean, yes, there is such a thing as going too far...
And when you're shivering behind your garden shed wearing a tinfoil hat and muttering about the mermaids who are trying to organise a raffle so that you don't die, you might want to lay off the "imagination" stuff for a while.
But a little bit of casual musing and visualising seems alright in my books.
In fact, it seems downright awesome.

I'm a serial daydreamer.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm constantly away in my own world...mulling things over, trying to come up with ideas, reliving past memories and envisioning new ones.
It sounds weird to say but I enjoy thinking. My brain is the place I'm most familiar with after all! If I have any type of dilemma or problem in my life, I'll wait until the bus ride to or from college, switch on my iPod, switch myself off and just think about it.
Sometimes I can't even go to sleep because I'm thinking so hard about something or another.
But I don't really believe that that's a bad thing.
It mellows me out, it relaxes me and it keeps me feeling calm.
I can't even count the amount of times I've pondered myself out of a panic attack just by focusing on something else.
And when it comes to any type of sadness or upset, it's super nice to be able to escape into your own head. It's a lot more peaceful in there than out in the screaming battlefield everyday life can sometimes feel like. ;)

In regards to all this, I'd like to quote one of my favourite movies of all time, "Sucker Punch," which is an epic extravaganza of rebellion against corrupt authority, bad ass teamwork, clever plot twists, steampunk warfare, escape from a mental asylum and just pure incredibleness mixed with amazingness in a blender.
Anyway, the film has a brilliant line regarding imagination...
"It's like we talked about, you control this world. Let the pain go, let the hurt go, let the guilt go. What you are imagining right now, that world that you control? That place can be as real as any type of pain."
And I think that's true. :)
A few minutes of retreating into the dream world can be incredibly beneficial to your own well-being.
There's been lots of times when I've felt down and then just by getting inside my own mind and chillin' there for a little while, I've ended up feeling a lot better.
I've always considered it to be pretty nourishing...slipping into a place where no you can get to you or bother you or take anything away from you. It's a world that's completely yours and no one else's. A world where you're the boss.
I think we all need that sometimes.

Plus, it can help with real life desires and yearnings as well.
I remember talking to a friend of mine once who said that he noticed a girl in his lecture hall at university one day who was (in his own words) "the definition of breath-taking." He told me all about how she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen and how amazing her smile was.
"So when are you going to talk to her?" I remember asking him.
"Never," he answered straightaway in a noticeably confident tone of voice.
Seeing the confused look on my face, he elaborated.
"Aimee, I have an idea of this girl in my head that I don't want to ruin," he told me. "Today I acted like a big creep inside my brain and imagined speaking to her for the first time, our first date, how it would go, what she would say, how her laugh would sound. And in my head, that's all awesome and fantastic. It made me feel really, really cheerful for a little while. So why wreck it by talking to her in real life? There'll be other girls. But I want to keep this one the way it is.
And yes, before you say it, I know this all makes me sound like a stalker!"
"Not at all," I assured him.
Because it didn't (to me at least). In fact, it made perfect sense.
And the more I reflected on it ('cos that's what I do), the more of a beautiful idea it seemed.
I mean, no one is perfect, right? Right.
But it's nice to believe that some people out there are just these awesome, flawless angels who are sweet and caring, gorgeous and striking, smart and funny. The whole deal with no faults.
That type of person doesn't exist of course...but it's kind of cool to think that they do.
So if you build up someone in your head to be perfect, why do anything to destroy that image?
It's sweet to think that we could live in a world inhabited by a number of creatures who are just plain astounding and brilliant. :)

It's the same with what if scenarios, possible situations and potential outcomes.
Or even the results of a past decision if we'd chosen a different path.
It can be nice to just unwind by yourself, hang out and consider all those different things sometimes.

All in all, it comes down to one thing (this is my own idea, feel free to quote me on it so that I can become an instant celebrity, recognised for my blogging genius, and retire to a mansion bought with pretend internet money)...
It's always good to go out and accomplish.
But sometimes it's good to just sit back and dream.

:)