“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast”
― Lewis Carroll
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Have you ever allowed yourself to be caught up in flights of fancy? Do you savor spontaneous moments, taking delight in the quaint and unusual? Then perhaps you have partaken of the sweet nectar called whimsy.
I partake quite often as it seems; my thirst is seldom sated. I suppose at times just plain reality can get boring and it certainly gets less stressful having somewhere fun in my imagination to wander to. This is helpful to me. I like to taste each tiny bit of delightfulness that comes my way….fortunately there is a tremendous amount in this world to delight in. I often find that it is in the small and mundane moments where I can find these sweet little pockets of joy. I believe there are deep veins of happiness out there….or in there just waiting to be discovered and appreciated.
Just the other day while I was singing along to the radio and washing the dishes my cat spontaneously jumps up and sits on the edge of the sink. He gazes up at me with an earnest intentness seldom seen in cats, at least that is what I imagine it is as I gaze back into those big green eyes. He doesn’t seem to notice the water droplets misting his black coat. I call him a crazy cat like I do in my sing-song childlike voice I reserve for animals and babies. I am delighting in the ridiculousness of the moment when MM comes in…the look on his face was priceless…this makes me laugh.
On certain afternoons in sunny spring I have been known to go down to the nearby park for a swing, stopping to smell the roses. I often talk to the urban animals I meet along my way, the crows especially since they tend to answer me back with caw caw but squirrels and cats and other birds too are also fun to talk to. Thinking about it; I talk to plants as well, trees mostly. They are really quite friendly and so knowledgeable too.
To the outside observer I may seem to have lost my marbles but his is how I keep my marbles intact: through whimsy and imagination.
I will at times travel to various exotic locations in impromptu flight of fancy. These turn out to be for the most part: sandy beaches and enchanted forests and luxury hotel suites with excellent room service, great deserts and fantastic views…as these are the places my imagination prefers.
Your imagination probably takes you to different spots, some very interesting ones I bet….
Whimsy is a natural high and it’s free. It lives inside us all. It cavorts with the inner child in the recesses of the imagination. Whimsy is kinda’ bummed out that it isn’t given the respect that it’s due. One could argue as to the needlessness of whimsy but I contend that it is that very needlessness of whimsy that causes it to be important. It doesn’t take much to spare a little room for the unnecessary, whimsy included…in fact whimsy is so light and fluffy it hardly takes up any room at all.
Whimsy not only feels good, it can make those around us feel good too. Most of us can relate to the absurd from time to time. Children love it. We adults tend to put that sort of thing aside for more mature pursuits and poor old whimsy is locked in the back of the closet never to be shown the light of day again. I think a lot people are fearful of looking like a fool or insane. Society generally frowns on the eccentric. Instead of caving to societal pressure I am taking this as a sign that I should embrace my eccentricities more fully and more publicly. The more of us “crazies” out there, the more acceptable it will to become to be one.
It is up to us mavericks to set the tone and say to the world: It’s okay to be silly, in fact it’s amazingly fun… and dammit why lose out on all the fun because one enters into the dreaded “adulthood”? The act of fancifulness is sometimes seen as irresponsible. The world needs dreamers to dream the dreams that show us that reality is not always what we see and it really doesn’t have to be. Reality is what we make of it.
Wishing you a really fantastical day!
♥
Strawberryindigo.
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“Reality doesn’t impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.”
― Anaïs Nin
SBI talks to the animals
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Hey squirrel, we dropped your nuts!
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Sounds of Whimsy
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I am the Walrus by The Beatles
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Big Rock Candy Mountain by Burl Ives
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Related articles
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The Art of Ridiculousness by SBI (strawberryindigo.wordpress.com)
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A Life of Whimsy (kimberlycelestethoughts.wordpress.com)
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You haven’t lost your marbles ms strawberry,we are all whimsy ! 🙂
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Thank you Mr. Tiger. You are amazing–you wonderful creature!
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Thank you ms strawberry,your amazing too 😉
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Whimsy – Love it. I guess the nearest I get to that is when walking the dog and it’s dark no street lamps and a clear night. WOW the universe is so totally magic the way it just is, and floats for our delight. Then the scientist inside me kicks in and I’m even more at awe of the vast size and complexity. And I love cats… never get rid of my two.
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Hey Steven, Cats and dogs and starry starry nights…the universe is a wonderful place… 🙂
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Whimsy – Love it. I guess the nearest I get to that is when walking the dog and it’s dark no street lamps and a clear night. WOW the universe is so totally magic the way it just is, and floats for our delight. Then the scientist inside me kicks in and I’m even more at awe of the vast size and complexity. And I love cats… never get rid of my two.
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Without whimsy, why bother?!? Yes, I talk to the crow family that I see every morning on my walk, and to all the dogs behind fences that I see (“Good morning, Boxers! Hello, Noisy! Good morning, Mr. Barker – I give them all names, too,) and to the bluebirds and chick-a-dees, and I look like a madwoman talking to myself. But so does everyone else who is talking into their bluetooth headset, and I know I am having more fun than those who are multi-tasking “serious” conversations while they walk. thanks for calling all of us to Have More Fun!!!!
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Oh Janet, what fun we’d have talking to the animals together. I have my own names for all the neighborhood cats who come by for a visit. I remember there was the Squirrel “Stumpy” ( guess why 😦 ) And those crows. They are feisty and loud and I always make a point of giving them the respect due. They have long memories…
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Awesome! Love the Lewis Carroll beginning, and the kitty…d’aw so cute, and so true. Being an adult dies not have to mean we do not enjoy life, play, and have fun. Well said Strawberryindigo. 🙂
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Hi Niaaeryn. 🙂 Thanks. I probably wrote the whole thing to justify my eccentricity….and why not? 😉
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Winter has snowed in my whimsy, time to dig out the Whimsy shovel and get it back! .. Maybe it’s just the morning without enough coffee yet.. I do love touches of whimsy in my life.. I like to find silly fun things that make me smile, remind me it’s o.k. to dream and fantasize of a life less stressed. Again, you have awoken something in me with your words. 🙂 And I love your header photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I needed that punch of color and smiles to wake me up today 🙂
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Hi Kim, Stay warm and pretend you are on a tropical island..sitting on the beach in the warm sun with a fruity drink watching the waves and having your every whim catered to by a friendly and buff native with a gorgeous smile….oh wow. I’m awake now. 😉
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I’m glad you’ve reminded me to be a little silly and eccentric… I can usually get away with it here, as everyone says the British are eccentric! (And the Germans can be sooo straight-faced at times! 😉 )
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One of the things I like about the British is their eccentricity. I am glad Cathy you have found a little oasis of silliness in all that German seriousness.
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Alley, one of our cats that passed away in 2001, used to do that whenever we left water running . . .
. . . as for whimsy . . . well, I exercise it often when I write my posts.
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Hey Disperser, I enjoy your whimsicalness….cats are trippy. I’ve always had a cat around…or did they have me?
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Oh yes!!!!! Whimsy is a wonderful state of mind. And the mundane dances with delight for all of us living in it.
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Hello Firebonnet! 🙂 Excellent: Love that: “And the mundane dances with delight for all of us living in it.” You look like a lot of fun. I will have to pop over and say Hello.
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Good for you! I’ve reimbraced the silly since for too long I had it locked up behind bars. Too many people are way too serious.
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I love that Missy; Embrace the silly…I’m with you! 🙂
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I love whimsy and live in that world whenever possible.
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I’m glad about that Lisa, Whimsy is important. 🙂
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Well said, Sb! We need to be reminded every so often.
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Thanks Amy! 🙂 Good to see you.
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