How many times have we heard someone say, “Just use your imagination?” That is a genius question to ask someone who has come up against a brick wall in their endeavor to solve a problem. I think it is a genius question to ask someone who is facing how they are going to approach something like Parkinson’s in a healthy way. For me, I asked myself this question when trying to decide whether or not to undergo DBS surgery. I imagined my life, particularly the quality of life, with Parkinson’s. The more questions I asked the more evident it became to me that as long as I have Parkinson’s (Remember, there is no cure), I would suffer. And while suffering has its place in my human existence, could I imagine a period in my life without the constant tremors that keep me perpetually worn out? The more I read about DBS and the more I talked with people who had experience with it, the more promising the procedure became to me. With DBS there is quite the possibility of improving the quality of my life. I imagined my life without the constant tremors…and it sounded like I had found my answer.
On Friday, August 22, I went in for the initial procedure in which they implanted the electrodes in bi-laterally (both sides of my brain) and on August 25, I went back into the operating room to have the device which would provide the stimulation implanted in my upper left chest cavity, much like a pace maker. As I write this, I am awaiting the activation of the DBS system which should take place on September 12. As Melinda so eloquently put it, “We’re gonna turn him on.” I don’t care who knows. I a looking forward to being ‘turned on’!
Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist who is probably best known for developing the theory of relativity. You know: E = mc2! Whatever that means. All I know is that he won a Nobel Prize for his work in physics and was a genius mathematician. Even though he never took an IQ test during his lifetime, many estimate his IQ to have been in the range of 160. Again, whatever that means! He was a smart dude. Although his life was not one I would lift up as a role model for being a man of great moral character, he still had some very good insight into what creativity is and can be.
As I did some research on creativity and inspiration, I came across some of his personal thoughts on creativity which made me curious. When I think of physicists or mathematicians (and who doesn’t, duh?), creativity and inspiration are not the first things I think of, but come to find out, there was much more to Albert Einstein than I had originally thought. There are several famous quotes attributed to him on the subject of creativity and inspiration.
He famously said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun”, emphasizing that creative thinking is a natural and enjoyable part of being intelligent. We are each intelligent human beings, created in God’s image, and it doesn’t take a genius to recognize this. We just need to believe God can express Himself by inspiring us in a myriad of ways. For me, writing a new chapter in a book is thrilling - like riding on a rollercoaster and enjoying the ride. For me, writing or receiving a song is absolute joy - like when I see one of my grandchildren running toward me, arms open wide. I give myself permission to have fun with the intellect Good has given me…and I tend to think this has been one of the major ways the Lord has inspired me. It’s so fun to hear others singing one of my songs or to hear how something I have written in a book has led a person to greater freedom in Jesus Christ.
Einstein once said, "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination" and "Imagination is more important than knowledge”! I absolutely agree with those quotes…to a point. I believe God gave me my imagination in order to help me know Him and to be known by Him. One of the smartest things I’ve ever done was to get to know Jesus in a personal way. Some of my greatest achievements, whether musically or in my writing, have been born of my imagination. Here’s a great example: I love to imagine the reality of the work of Jesus on the cross because of his great love for me. That use of my imagination has brought me to a place of true reality and true relationship with my God and has inspired thousands of songs and dozens of books.
Einstein believed the power of imagination could drive innovation and discovery. I believe the power of imagination was used by God to inspire me to write and record music and to write books even before anyone ever offered to publish them for me. It was the driving force behind my autobiography and driving force behind exploring other genres in which to convey the love of Christ. I consider that an innovative discovery. So far, I’ve written 7 books in the fantasy genre, thirteen 365 day devotional books, 12 books in both the self-help or autobiographical genre, and several children’s books, along with several others.
Another quote attributed to Einstein says, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” If we gave up every time we made a mistake we would never get anything accomplished creatively or otherwise. We need to learn to embrace our mistakes as a necessary part of the creative process…and learn from them.
Einstein also said, ”No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” What does that even mean? I think it means learning to see problems and circumstances from God’s point of view. That means creativity requires thinking outside the box and approaching challenges from new perspectives. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize the truth in that. It just takes faith and we can all walk in that. And now that I think about it, that’s downright genius! We can use our imagination as to how we will respond to, not Just PD, but to the pain and suffering life has a way of handing out to us all at some point or another.
Ready for the journey with me? As I like to say, let’s shake, rattle, and roll!
I will be sharing more about the DBS procedure in the coming days. Stay tuned!
Photo courtesy of https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/04/15/12/32/einstein-4129246_1280.jpg