Subversive Imagination

Some things I do the old fashion way.
Pen and paper.
Manila folders.

Either on my desk or in my desk drawer I have two manila folders filled with scraps of paper. Some of those scraps are my doing. Some others have left for me. Articles which caught my attention or which had a turn of a phrase that turned my thinking in a new direction. But as thought provoking as all those articles are or were, the other thing about those manila folders is they are covered with scribbled words or phrases. Again, something I read or heard that I did not want to forget even if I forgot where I heard it or read it. Today, rearranging the stacks on my desk in a desperate attempt at order, scribbled words on that manila folder caught my attention. Subversive Imagination. Where did I hear or read that?

I can and do imagine lots of things.
Learning to make furniture.
Completing my hike of the Long Trail in Vermont.
Reading one of the many books on my book list.
Wishing I could dance.
Becoming more fluent in Spanish.

But where, I wonder, is my imagination subversive?
Seeing past or through the gloss of today to something different for tomorrow?
Seeing clearly enough that what I do today and the choices I make today are driven more by that imagination than my To Do list?
An imagination which turns my world and our world right side up.
That kind of seeing…
That type of imagination is hard.
And, requires work
And, maybe a touch of wisdom.