Simple yet elusive..

8People have discovered that there is a subtle form of communication between animals and even have ways of expressing happines (may not exactly be laughter). These are not something that is unique to homo sapiens as it was deemed earlier (oh, just got tired of referring to us as human beings all the time). But I think we are the only beings to be able to imagine the future, we may or may not plan for it (that is a totally different ball game). Probably this is the real "sixth sense". To be able to travel down the imagination avenue and travel up the memory lane is simply an enormous power vested on us.

I remember seeing some really old movie in which someone tried to control the way a doll moves sitting in one place. We do have such dolls, not just dolls, even robots which are operated by remote controls. We imagined that at one point, a human can fly. We not only have planes but we are traveling beyond earth into an unknown space. What was once an imagination is now a reality. May be, necessity is no longer a mother of invention but Imagination is. We have crossed a stage where necessity was driving everything. We are now in stage where comfort and luxury is driving most of the inventions.

As someone rightly termed brain is an "Anticipation machine". We are always contemplating something - at least as simple as planning for dinner in the evening. Else, what would it be like to live in a world of "permanent present". Sometimes, it is not all that nice to be just in present. Contemplating gives us at least an opportunity to consummate the things we contemplate. May be in our minds, it gives us a sense of ability to alter things. It leaves us with a sense of comfort. It gives us an illusion of comfort. Yes, future is in our hands. The future is as good as we paint in our minds. An possibility of not just better days to come but more comfortable days (and possibly more lazy days with machines for everything) or at least an illusion of that keeps us growing.

When we can achieve so much with imagintion, why dont we imagine some altruistic phenomenon like world peace?