Imagination

Imagination is what sparks the fire of greatness in us. It's how we got the Model T, the Eiffel Tower, and Lemon Cream Cheese Pie. It's where Captain Jack Sparrow, Harry Potter, and Frodo were born.

Do you remember flexing your imagination in strange and beautiful ways when you were little? Whole worlds attached to your bedroom that only you could see. The distinct possibility that your old lady neighbor was a Queen in hiding. The absolute certainty that fairy tales were true in a place not so far away.

We lose that as we get older, unless we fight hard against the encroaching wall of reason, responsibility, and math teachers who slap down our "what ifs" and remind us of "what is".

I have a vivid imagination but I find myself constantly second guessing an idea. I say, "What if..." and quickly follow it with "oh, but, how could I explain that?"

Now, I've decided, the most interesting part of the journey through my imagination is "how could I explain that" because the answer takes me further and further away from "what is" and closer to the magical world of "what if". I just have to be willing to let the explanation stay as fantastically whimsical as the "what if".

Today, my imagination snatched three ideas (modern day pirates, world-wide treasure hunts, and a modest detection agency specializing in finding what most believe doesn't exist) and threw them together in one fascinating pot.

Who knows what will come of it?