Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. — Mark 11:24
Years ago, during a visit with my sister Franquis Grant, we were talking about our contract with AmeriHealth that we did together as a family. Some things had to be done at the last minute, very unexpectedly. Franquis said to me, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” It caught my attention! I asked her where she got that from, and she replied that it’s in John Lennon’s song “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy),” a 1980 song that he wrote about the birth of his son. She reminded me how she was living with me out in San Pablo, California, when she played that album so often. She was my babysitter for my youngest son, Elton Leon, after my maternity leave ended and I had to go back to work. My new son would always get quiet and listen when she played that song, his calming-down song, “even while you were pregnant with him,” she remembered.
Let me share with you the lyrics of “Beautiful Boy”: “Close your eyes, have no fear, The monster’s gone, He’s on the run, and your daddy’s here. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. Before you go to sleep, say a little prayer. Every day, in every way, it’s getting better and better. Out on the ocean, sailing away, I can hardly wait to see you come of age. But I guess we’ll both just have to be patient, cause it’s a long way to go. A hard row to hoe. Yes, it’s a long way to go. But in the meantime, before you cross the street, take my hand, life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans.”
Let’s talk about our imagination and how that line from “Beautiful Boy” is perfect for the principle of Imagination, a concept from Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich,” my second-most important book (the Holy Bible is always first). Hill’s book is an explanation of the Bible, in practical steps, to help one become successful. He studied his Bible for six hours most days.
We all know the word “imagination,” but do we really understand the principles of using our imagination? As a young girl, imagination was my friend, lots of things came to mind when I was young.
When we discover life, paying household bills and grown-up things, if we could dream again like we used to when we were young children, the way Napoleon Hill suggests using our imagination will work so much better.
Separate the word “imagination” into components, and you get “image” and “ion.” The “image” is the seeing of something physical. The “ion” part refers to the action.
Napoleon Hill said, “The more we use our imagination, the more it will deliver its physical form.” People who changed the world used imagination. Let us thank the Wright brothers who imagined being able to fly up in the sky. After carefully planning, trying a bunch of things using their imagination, they finally got their converted bicycle machine to fly in the air.
History shows how the light bulb used to be a flicker of a lit wick in oil. Workers would go out, light these wicks at dusk so there would be light in the streets at night, until one man’s imagination clicked as he watched lightning and decided there had to be a better way. Thomas Edison tried more than one thousand ways, using his imagination repeatedly until he found it.
Today, we almost forget about this amazing ability we all have! Luke 1:37, KJ says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Never underestimate this powerful, forgotten little treasure we used to use.
James Allen, British inspiration writer, says, “Our minds are like a garden, if you don’t use them, weeds will grow. Plant and water and look after your thoughts, you will have a beautiful garden.”
Jim Rohn, an inspirational speaker, said, “It’s not the blowing of the wind that determines our destiny, it’s the set of the sail.”
Did you set a good sail? Do you really know what you want from the goal you’ve set? Do you know what it is you would like to have left behind one day when you die?
Take time out and really think about what you want and where you want to go, and conceptualize the images and circumstances needed to make them a reality.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
