Daily Compass

When I was a kid, adults often said I had a “wild” imagination. At the time, the phrase seemed a bit condescending – an emphasis on childishness, something that needed to or would be tamed as I grew up. As I reflect now, I find that wildness sacred, just as childhood is sacred. The wildness of my imagination then is something I long for now, and a trait that lives on in adult forms like my visions for ministry and a better world. I think cultivating faith requires us to cultivate that childlike wildness, the suspension of disbelief that allows us to see beauty in small things and possibilities beyond what is immediately apparent. -Steven Leigh Williams (CLF)

How do you get in touch with childlike wildness?

I have been ruminating a lot about imagination and how it is part of liberation work. One of the most imaginative and creative books I read was Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals. Even the title of the book sparks imagination and wonder. Weaving lessons from whales and dolphins to the work of liberation centers love, joy and community care. I believe expanding our imaginations to what is possible is crucial for our very survival. -Aisha Hauser (CLF)

Where do you find inspiration for imagination in unusual places?

As an artist, I often prickle at the way imagination is talked about in our culture. It’s often framed as if, besides children, it’s only uniquely talented adults (artists, writers, etc.) who get to have imagination — as if it’s something that’s either inherent to you and easy to access, or that you don’t have it at all. While we all relate to imagination differently, I know that imaginative energy is something that I have to actively cultivate in my life, and that unless I’ve had space and time to tend to my body, mind, and spirit, I also can’t access my imagination easily. I believe that imagination and creativity is inherent to all of us, and it’s more often than not the cultural programming and material conditions of our lives that limit our ability to see it flourish. – Rose Gallogly (CLF)

How can you make time and space to cultivate imagination today?

“We have an obligation to imagine. It is easy to pretend that nobody can change anything, that society is huge and the individual is less than nothing. But the truth is individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining that things can be different”-Neil Gaiman

How have you imagined something into reality?

We are allowed to get tired while we work to build a world of liberation. We are allowed to rest, to catch our breath. What we can’t do is stop. Our persistence in demanding the reality we want for the present and future is what keeps us on track. Our persistence helps us to bring others along. Our persistence is a steady walk towards freedom. – JeKaren Olaoya (CLF)

How can you rest today so that you can persist tomorrow?