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Is an Idle Mind the Devil’s Playground?
Growing up, I was taught by my teachers to salute my creativity, maximizing the potentials of my brain’s imagination. I was given an hour a day to write in the noisy hustle bustle of the classroom as my brain’s wheels turned — busyness is when we thrive most, or so I was led to believe in my youth. I was shamed for being so observant, sitting in my own silent solitude, while my peers were distracted by the loud surroundings that demanded to be heard. But in silence, I found my spark and drive to craft beautiful works (I fought against the grain to tolerate such dictations to submerge myself in the raucous world).
And then I graduated high school and stepped foot into the “real world,” where creativity was further undermined by my college chemistry labs and microbiology professors: why use imagination when science is in your back pocket, urging you to apply mathematics and consistent formulas? I was taught to study from textbooks and repeat labs that were performed many a times before me, neglecting my mind’s capabilities to explore new labs, new research, new findings. My mind was never silent, as I worked hard every class to find the right answers, and in chemistry labs, there were only right and wrong answers. The grays simply did not exist. But in silence, I heard colors. Vibrant colors that yearned to be unleashed and remembered.
