Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open
James Dewar
I read this quote yesterday and it struck a cord with me. Having an open mind seems to be such an easy thing to do, but when it comes down to it, how much of an open mind do we really have.
As a little girl I never had a problem in believing, Santa Claus, the Tooth-fairy, the Easter Bunny, leprechauns, fairies and wishing on a star were all real and a part of my life. I loved to read fairy-tales, myths and legends, immerse myself in these magical multilayered worlds filled with colours and never ending possibilities, they all seemed so real and enticing. I loved letting myself believe in the impossible and knew that anything could be true. I waited for Peter Pan and his fairy-dust to appear and let me fly.
Sadly as I grew up I learned about gravity and other forces that hold our world in place and sometimes our minds. I formed opinions, beliefs and ideas about myself, people and the world in general, slowly shutting down the doors and windows of my mind, restricting myself in what I believed could, would and should be possible.
But when I read quotes like the one above my inner child jumps up and down wanting to grab a hanky and jump off a roof just to see if she can fly. She wants to wander down to the bottom of the garden and have a tea-party with the fairies that live in the flowers there, she can’t help but believe each rabbit she sees hopping across the field has Easter-eggs hidden away, or that Santa really knows how naughty she’s been and when a rainbow appears in the sky she looks out for the tell-tale signs of those cheeky wee leprechauns.
So while yes, we need our opinions and experiences to help lead the way and navigate through the tricky waters of life, maybe keeping an open mind is what puts wind in our sails and lets us enjoy the unexpected and unknown. Instead of locking up our minds to the new and unexplored we should air out our thoughts and dare to see beyond what we know and maybe, just maybe fairy-dust will make us fly.
jensinewall 
Love the quote!
me too
Spot on, J. Needed that…………..
XXOOOXRR
like me!
I understand what you are saying about learning about gravity and the forces that hold the world around us together but to me there is too much unexplained to feel sad about it, dark matter, cold fusion, how the universe began, all these hold so much mystery and excitement, the possibilities are still endless but like you said; the mind has to be open for it to work.
yes and who knows maybe we all live inside a christmas cracker
There going to be bitterly disappointed when they see us popping out across the Christmas table.
but we can steal all the mince pies
This is such a great topic to debate about! Here is my take; Its not so important all the time if the story is true or not. The truth is that the story will produce a true result whether there is truth or not in the story. There is also tangible truth and intangible truth. Some things are metaphors and they are true, but we will say they are not true because of our limited understanding of the intangible. Everything has truth in it. We just have to be able to see what it means beyond the face value. The fact that we can even come up with such imaginative things is proof that they apply to us, otherwise we would not have been capable of imagining them. But, yea, we have to ask the right questions so we do not end up in our back yard combing the grass in search of a tangible fairy world that somehow eluded us all this time lol.
that is so right … all about the truth whatever that may sometimes be
And blame it on Dark Matter.
yes … just collapsing in on itself … bah humbug
It’s not always easy, but I try to have an open mind or at least give the impression that I do! 😉
yes I am great at the impression and the inward groan
And now deep thoughts…As I contemplate your wonderful post, my immediate reaction was a defensive inner dialogue…well I am open minded. But then, on reconsideration, I tend to be open minded to others but not myself. My imagination and dreaming what ifs, has atrophied. Thanks for opening my mind. 8)
lol … we all need pushing now and then … I need lots
To hold on to some of the magic of our childhood is wonderful…Diane
I think we should all do that and play a little everyday
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!!!!! Great post…
thanks …