Beginnings...

My imagination is constantly overflowing with stories, both fictional as well as non, and I must say that it is a great joy of my life. Through our imaginations, we are given the opportunity to travel and explore new cities, countries, worlds that we would never otherwise have the opportunity. We can experience love that we never even imagined possible, and meet people along the way that take up residence in our hearts and minds in unbelievable ways. Imagination can do the most impossible of things and bring your most wildest dreams to fruition. Imagination is the fuel behind all of the major revolutions and inventions that make up the history of our world. Your imagination is much more powerful than you think.

Imagination created the world. Imagination created YOU.

Why then, do we often come to a point in life where we are suddenly "too old" for using our imaginations?

This is a great tragedy. 

One of the best quotes that I have recently stumbled upon is from C.S. Lewis, a master of imagination if there ever was one:

Someday you will start being old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

This quote is quite short, but the implications are powerful. Here is another:

When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

The simple fact is without imagination, we would not be here. The earth would not exist, along with everything else in the galaxies. We were placed here, purposefully, by One whose imagination knows no bounds. The question I am left with is this: if using imagination is good enough for the One who put us on this earth and created all that we see(and even that which we do not) why then is it not always acceptable to us? Why do we discourage others from exposure to things that may not be "real" in the historical sense but have so much reality in other ways? I remember in high school, coolness and grownupness were measured by all of the peers around you, and I very much doubt that I was measured highly by many of them. Nearly always having a book in my hand, most of them works of fiction, I was not one who would be considered cool by high school standards. But it was always worth it to me, and I have no regrets. It is not to say that I did not have friends, by no means is that true, however they were not great in number and we were not superbly high in the ranks of popularity. I am not here saying that the reasons for my unpopularity were solely based upon my passion for reading fiction, but what I am wondering is why is this so common? Why do we place negative stereotypes on people who like to read, even more so on those who may enjoy fantasy or science fiction? This seems to be particularly true with the younger generations. How can we change these attitudes in a widespread way, and encourage everyone to openly read and imagine?