IMAGINE THAT! 

By Lois Limberis

            When was the last time you went lion hunting?  Or traveled around the world?  Or saved the world from impending danger because you were mankind’s last hope?

I remember as a child, hitting the door at a dead run at the break of day.  I would be bubbling with excitement at the prospect of such activities as hunting lions, building a dam, or erecting a clubhouse that would be the envy of every kid in the neighborhood.  If someone had suggested to me then that I stay inside and play video games while a bright sunny day beckoned to me through the window, I would have thought them feeble minded.  Even the rainiest days couldn’t dampen my spirits.  It seemed there was always something to do, some big adventure just waiting for me to discover it.

            I can remember making a racecar, an airplane, and a boat out of a cardboard box and a few crayons.  Through my imagination, I could travel the entire world and never leave the living room.

             A few days ago, my friend and I were having a conversation that was interrupted by his eleven-year-old son.  “I want to go to the mall.  I’m bored.”  he said.  I was astounded.  This child had just waded through an ocean of toys, tripped over a half dozen cords leading to video games, and had broken his fall by grabbing his internet-linked computer.  I could not believe that an eleven year old with that many resources could possibly be bored.  I was on the verge of expressing my disbelief when it suddenly became clear to me.  We have unwittingly stolen our children’s imagination.

Young people today find adventure through other’s ideas that limit imagination to a small area within the confines of a programmed existence.  Television, video, DVD, internet, and all types of electronic stimulation have eliminated their need for imagination with pre-packaged, pre-programmed chips and cartridges.  Our children explore the world by sitting in front of a screen and pushing buttons.

As a child, I sat still only as a punishment, and then I used my imagination to escape.  Children now sit still because they are pacified by external images. They expect someone else’s thoughts to entertain them and have lost the ability to create their own fun.  When deprived of effortless diversion, they are bored.  It’s a shame that today’s children don’t realize that boredom is no more than a frame of mind.

So, when was the last time that you went lion hunting? 

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