Daydreamer

Daydreaming and allowing your imagination to run free is not only an effective way to problem solve creatively, it’s also a sure-fire way to promote greater wellbeing.

- Sonia Zadro

A focused imagination can help you achieve goals and promote your wellbeing, but what about just a simple daydream? Did you know that even just allowing your mind to wander could be productive?

“Mummy, I can see the dream stars swirling above me,” said my five-year-old son as he lay back in bed with sleepy eyes.

“What are dream stars, sweetheart?” I asked.

“They’re magic stars that appear above your head when you go to sleep at night. They’re sent by wizards who get together in the day and decide what dreams you are going to have at night.”

My son’s imagination takes me by surprise sometimes. But it shouldn’t. Even he tells me children are much more creative than adults. “They let their minds run free more,” he says, and this is not just his opinion, it’s a fact he learned from his favourite kids’ show, Brainchild.

But will a creative imagination do him much good? One of my mother’s favourite phrases to describe me when I was young was, “You’re such a dreamer,” and this was not meant in the complimentary sense. Granted, letting one’s mind wander into various flights of fancy doesn’t seem terribly productive. And these days, with the trend of mindfulness and staying fully focused in the present moment, one can only assume that allowing one’s imagination to run free is a complete waste of time.

Putting imagination into practice