“Never stop looking for what’s not there.”

I love this quote. It’s from the movie The Magic of Belle Isle.

Morgan Freeman (one of my favs) was teaching his nine year old neighbor how to use her imagination when he told her to never stop looking for what’s not there. Freeman portrays a well-known author, Monte Wildhorn, who lost his ambition and inspiration to write after his wife passed away. Together, he and his young new friend, discover (and rediscover) imagination through the art of storytelling. Monte also discovers that life and love can continue even after loss. This is a great, heartwarming story.

I found it interesting, though, that this little girl did not understand imagination at nine years old. But then I thought of today’s world. Phones, tablets, and TVs have replaced dirt, grass, and trees for our young children. Playing outdoors seems to be a thing of the past. In my opinion, this mindset is dulling young minds to be less creative or imaginative as we become more “tech dependent” for our entertainment. And we are in constant need to be entertained, instead of creating our own entertainment.

Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, we were outside all day long. And so were all the neighborhood kids. None of us wanted to be cooped up in a house. That was unheard of. I remember my siblings and I would play “house” in the weeds on the property next to ours when we were young. We’d make rooms by smashing down the weeds. We used the seeds of the weeds, flowers, milkweed pods, and small sticks to make our pretend food for our meals. Sometimes my sister and I had pretend husbands, like Greg Brady, Bobby Sherman, or Davy Jones. That was imagination. 

Whether you are writing, or just daydreaming, consider looking for what’s not there in plain sight. Think of the possibilities. On this beautiful morning I sat outside enjoying the beginning of this new day. I stared at the grass noticing the many annoying corn flies and gnats hovering in and around it. Then I thought about what I couldn’t see below the grass. There’s actually a whole ‘nother world down there at dirt level. I guess others imagined the same and created the movies A Bug’s Life and Antz.

Currently, as I edit my own children’s story, I think about this quote and whether I used it to create my story. I can definitely see that looking for what’s not there would help any story to be more interesting. 

Looking deeper into something or creating something spectacular out of nothing is using your imagination.  This is something our kids (and we) could use more of. 

♥️

Andi