" I always saw a bigger place for myself . . . it came from those moments of dreaming, of daydreaming, of sitting alone and quiet and thinking about myself, my stories, making things up in my head, right? . . . even at five . . . " ~ Michelle Obama
In the last blog we talked about focus and paying attention, why now daydreaming? It would seem the two are mutually exclusive—not so.
Some neurologists say half of our thoughts are daydreams and that it's then that we unthinkingly do our best thinking.
This brings us back to the crazy creatives whose wandering minds make unanticipated connections and land on new ideas. Apparently there are benefits of getting your head in the clouds.
But don't drift off into la-la land just yet . . .
It seems that there's a kind of mixing of external input of words, pictures and conversations with daydreaming. These ideas and concepts get mixed with an internal sense of wonderment. Both ingredients are necessary to produce the crucial product — creative insight.
When toddlers learn to direct their own attention whether it be inward or outward, preferably both, they fortify their own creativity.
When we learn to take great pleasure from our AHA moments, when fresh connections are made as they are continuously in early childhood, then letting our mind wander is not always wasted time. Instead it is crucial to our creative ability.
When coupled with wordless picture books daydreaming can lead to healthier minds, and could allow kids to feel relaxed and be more creative.
Let's (day)dream of that!
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