One thing that life continues to teach me – sometimes gently, sometimes like it is trying to get my attention with a frying pan – in that “intuition and imagination” are two of the most reliable guides we have. This does not refer to the small stuff, but for the choices that genuinely shape who we become.
“Intuition” is that quiet tug inside that somehow knows the truth before the rest of us catch up. It is derived from your soul. “Imagination” is the part that lets us picture what might be possible if we stop getting in our own way. It sparks intuitive development. When they work together, the path forward does not necessarily get easier. However, it does get clearer.
As an author, I have learned that my best ideas rarely arrive with spotlights. They show up as a nudge, a whisper, a stubborn little feeling that refuses to leave. Life works the same way. The decisions that matter most do not come from logic alone. They develop from that inner place where intuition points and imagination fill in the color.
And yes, sometimes following them does lead to a mess. But, often, they lead us to where we needed to go, even if we did not know it at the time.
Unsurprisingly, extraordinary people do not make extraordinary decisions. They arise when people are willing to trust the quiet signals inside them and “imagine” something better that what they already know. That combination has carried me this far. I am willing to believe it can channel anyone.
Bud Megargee is a former senior behavioral healthcare executive; a Washington, DC., healthcare lobbyist; and an independently published, best-selling and award-winning author. He began writing after exploring Eastern philosophy and alternative medicine techniques in the professional treatment of emotional challenges at a Taiwanese Buddhist monastery.