Another one

I wrote this back in my early University days. Everything was more interesting than studying Economics, thus this particular topic.
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Late night T.V was forbidden when I was a child and by late night I mean after 8 p.m., except for twice a week when we were allowed to stay up and watch Night Rider and Air Wolf. Just like any other child, I was restless and curious. Since T.V. wasn’t an option and reading wasn’t possible as both my brothers went to sleep early, which was given to eluding my eyes, I did what any other kid would do….I mused, fantasized and simply lost myself in my imagination.
And that is the only thing I am good at… and probably the only thing you don’t need a qualification for, which I don’t have any way…dreaming! This of course, made me somewhat of an idealist. In dreams everything is possible and thus I indulged myself in my silent reveries.
However, I never knew what idealism actually meant. I knew it was a way of thinking but I couldn’t differentiate between the basic forms of thought. Conjecture, awareness, understanding, and idealistic creativity are different strata’s of contemplation. This is probably only my outlook but effortless opinion and speculation lead only to stagnation of mind and heart, be it that of a person or a society. Understanding and awareness lead to fruition & progression. Idealistic creativity is what sets man apart from animals. It is this idealism that has given us the Mozart & Beethoven, it has created and destroyed empires, given us van Gough and Picasso, blessed us with Shakespeare and Tagore, but most of all, kept us sane when the world was determined otherwise. Without idealistic creativity, we will cease to be humans.
I grew up dreaming. No extra-ordinary dreams, just those little insipid ones where I was a princess and was allowed to stay up late and watch T.V. Sometimes, I’d cease to be a couch potato and do something more audacious like rescue Ulysses or help Hercules, two of my favorite heroes. But it was this idealism that led me to believe that all was good, humanity the greatest gift and the notion that no matter how bad things got, there was always hope. To me, that is essentially a very unrefined definition of idealism.
However, we must not confuse realistic idealism with creative idealism. Their coexistence is quite improbable. I am not saying it’s impossible, but if they do, it is simply incredible Realistic idealism is a perception of rational ideas and veracity. It is based on evidence & substantiation. It has no doctrine, no creed and is not governed by any canons, yet it is not tolerant. It sticks to facts and requires reason. To a creative idealist, this is of course vindictive. Its probably so, because it emphasizes on knowledge and understanding, which though two important forms of thought, are quite dissimilar to creative idealism
In order to elaborate this more eloquently, I have to compare two idealists Plato and G.W.F Hegel. They are separated by a millennium and a universe of difference. According to Plato, the world of changing experience & explanation is fantastic, and the Idea or Form--which does not vary and which can be known only by reason--constitutes true reality.
Conversely, Hegel reality is absolute Essence or rationale, which manifests its development toward total reticence in every aspect of experience from disposition to human history. F. H. Bradley, an English Hegelian, countered that ordinary experience is ambiguous and incongruous and therefore manifestation; truth, the Absolute, is an amalgamated totality, which can be discerned only through a distinctive and supreme, perhaps even numinous, occurrence, a possibility that can exist only in our dreams.
Realistic idealism exists in our mind, creative idealism in our hearts. Realistic idealism thrives on principles and milieu. Creative idealism fashions them. Realistic idealism breathes in empires, creative idealism breathes empires. Realistic idealism resides in our senses, creative idealism over-whelms them. Realistic idealism describes nature, creative idealism animates it. Realistic idealism is just a shade, creative idealism paints the picture. Realistic idealism is factual, where creative idealism is futuristic. Realistic idealism contemplates divine, creative idealism is divine. Realistic idealism is tangible, whereas creativity is simply untouchable.
So, I have grown up and given up on most of my dreams. I am not a princess and I’ll never meet Ulysses and Hercules, or save the world from an impending apocalypse, I am still, quite religiously and resolutely so, a creative idealist. I believe that there is more to this universe than meets the eye. What I can see is temporal, what remains unseen, is eternal