Einstein: “Imagination is everything. It is the preview to life’s coming attractions.”
In the summer of 1939, Albert Einstein, yes THAT Einstein, summered in the sleepy little town of Cutchogue on Nassau Point that lies on the North Fork of Long Island. He became friends with a local business named David Rothman, then owner of Rothman’s Department Store, and said as he departed at summer’s close that… this has been one of the most beautiful summers of my whole life…”
To celebrate that summer, Mr. Rothman’s grandson, Ron, who still owns the same business in town, offered part of the property he owned on Main Street to be converted into a public space and park to honor both his grandfather’s and Einstein’s friendship.
I stopped by the space today, and there’s a sculpture of Einstein’s head atop a pedestal in the center of the small park. On the wall opposite it, is a mural of the elder Mr. Rothman and Einstein, sitting companionably together and chatting as they might have in that summer of long ago. I believe it was taken from an actual photograph.
There are also multi-use spaces available for rent for commercial use or for rent as living space.
As I poked about on a quiet Sunday morning and looked into one of the ground level spaces, I saw this Einstein quote on a far wall. It’s the quote that headed this blog and it said:
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview to life’s coming attractions.”
Einstein also said:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is the language of the soul.
Pay attention to your imagination and you will discover all you need to be fulfilled.”
As summer draws to a close and that bat squeak of a something in the air that is the precursor of the turn of the calendar page can be felt, I hope parents and their young readers pay close attention to those quotes.
Returning to school is a new start; a new chance; a new grade; a fresh beginning and opportunity for both parent and child on where to focus ALL the energies and why.
Academic success IS important, but even Einstein had his struggles there and his flourishing in his given field of endeavor came at his own pace…and it took time to find it.
Let your young reader find and flourish at his or her own pace. If they know that you are supportive of their efforts and continued progress, they will find their own unique path.
Remember Einstein and his quote:” Imagination is everything. It is the key to life’s coming attractions.”
We humans are great planners. We want to know what’s coming down the pike and how to plan for it. We sit in movie theaters and watch “coming attractions” to see what’s out there. We skip to the “final chapter of the book” because we want to know impatiently how things turn out in the end. We sometimes are impatient with ourselves…and our kids, because they don’t keep pace with what the current norm is, as if everything human is quantifiable.
If reading fuels the imagination for a lifetime of learning and AHA moments, then it helps us, perhaps better than knowledge, to discover what feeds our soul and theirs… just as it did for Einstein.
Reading also feeds the imagination and the soul in very unique ways.
This school year, reach just as hard for that feeding of your child’s soul, via reading, and the rest will happen in its own good time.
Please allow your children to struggle a bit this school year as they discover who they are, what they are about and let them navigate life…yes, with loving acceptance of their unique abilities.
Please listen to “The Wood Song” by the Indigo Girls. It’s a favorite of my daughter, Jenn, who sings it as well as they do. The words are wonderful, as is the song. Here’s to you, Jenn!