When we look at something familiar and use it to understand what has hitherto been mysterious to us, we have used an important human tool. Being able to make analogies may be unique to homo sapiens but then it may be observed in rudimentary form in other species. Regardless, it is an important mechanism that we use for understanding.
Such was the case as I participated in a meeting early this afternoon. Apart from the subject being discussed, my mind began putting together an analogy that is profound; it has to do with the Earth, Sun, and Moon. The Earth is analogous to Mind, the Sun to Imagination, and the Moon to Dreams.
It is such good analogy that the more one ponders it the deeper the understanding. It is such a good analogy that it calls to mind the statement in Genesis 1:26-28, where man is created in the likeness of the creator. There are other references to this in other myths unrelated to the Bible.
Life, in one form or another, covers the earth in a film wherever the conditions are amenable. How it came from a single source into the multitude of manifestations it has today is certainly a mystery but, here again, one cannot deny the many species that constitute life on Earth.
The mind of man, as proven by many examples from antiquity to today, is capable of realizing anything that can be imagined. Our imagination is vast, it can propose much more than can be done in the moment; just as the sun provides much more energy than the Earth can use. Yet it is this trait that allows us to realize ideas.
We decide what we want with our mind, just as the Earth blooms with life. This is how we use the energy of imagination.
In order to stay the course and realize what we want and to persist through all of the distractions that come our way, we rely on our dream. This lesser light, as is the moon, causes us to churn our energy towards realizing it.
An analogy, to be useful, must do more than represent; it must give us a framework to which to go back, become a chart for navigating life and living. We have often had the occasion to imagine what we would like to have, to be. Likewise we have had dreams of how we would like our life to turn out. All to often we have abandoned our hopes and dreams, looking for a different or better result.
Having the Earth, Sun, Moon analogy in mind, we can still change our mind, the course of our life but we can do it with intention instead of being buffeted by the vagaries of what we encounter. The analogy reminds us to imagine, to formulate goals and objectives, to consciously dream and refresh that dream.
Then just as the energy of the Sun stimulates life on Earth and just as the influence of the moon causes constant motion that prevents stagnation, so does our imagination stimulate our activities and our dreams guide us in making choices as we pursue goals and objectives.
