Reflection
Young children question the “why” of reality. They question and their imaginations supersede logical thought. Their most clear learning seems to come from images and stories. Perhaps through questioning the why of reality and imagining alternate realities, we can recapture the curiosity of childhood. Why is there violence? Why is there greed? Why is there hatred? Why are people suffering? What is the cause of poverty? Why do we tolerate corruption in government? Why is there inequality? Does it have to be like this? These are questions of conscience and moral decisions. As children persevere in their questioning until they are satisfied, so should we. The reign of God is based in love and justice and we are called persevere in questioning until we find answers that lead us toward a just response.
Prayer
Creator God, open the intuitive eyes of my imagination to see injustices and alternate possibilities. Give me the courage to join with others who seek to find them.
Action
Cultivate a questioning mind that does not simply accept the status quo.
Suggested Readings
Let no one have contempt for your youth,
but set an example for those who believe,
in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
Until I arrive, attend to the reading, exhortation, and teaching.
Do not neglect the gift you have,
which was conferred on you through the prophetic word
with the imposition of hands
Be diligent in these matters, be absorbed in them,
so that your progress may be evident to everyone.
Attend to yourself and to your teaching;
persevere in both tasks,
for by doing so you will save
both yourself and those who listen to you.
Tim 4:12-16
Amen I say to whoever
does not accept the kingdom
of God like a child will not enter it.
Mark 10: 13- 15
When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.
Archbishop Helder Camara
Some men see things as they are and say, “Why?” I dream of things that never were and say, “Why not?”
Robert F. Kennedy
We are prophetic interrogators. Why are so many people hungry? Why are so many people and families in our shelters? Why do we have one of six of our children poor, and one of three of these are children of color? ‘Why?’ is the prophetic question.
Jim Wallis
Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.
John Lennon
All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.
Brian Tracy
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.
George Bernard Shaw
Everything you can imagine is real.
Pablo Picasso
Imagination is the voice of daring. If there is anything Godlike about God it is that. God dared to imagine everything.
Henry Miller
Doing is a quantum leap from imagining.
Barbara Sher
The biggest obstacle for creating a culture of peace is that most people won’t let themselves even think about peace on earth.
Robert Alan Silverstein
Imagine, Connect, Act.
Ami Dar
You must believe that you can help bring about a better world.
Bertrand Russell
Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.
Gloria Steinem