by: Brian North photo by: Jillian Lenser Are you having fun? I mean are you excited when you wake up or loathing the day's tasks that lie ahead? If you’re not having fun, when did it end? And why? I remember a moment when I was about 18 or 19 years old and I was on my way to the CU Buffaloes game with some friends in Boulder, CO. We had parked our car, and were walking with the sea of people to the gates to redeem our tickets. It was one of those picturesque Colorado evenings in the Fall. A halo of sun over the Flatirons as the sun set, and the temperature was still in the low 60s, but dropping fast. You could hear the buzz of the fans as game time was approaching and were couldn’t wait to get in. As we continued our stroll down the pathway to the game, there was a family to my right, and they were pushing a little boy in a stroller. For seemingly no reason at all, he caught my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little boy look up, point at a mechanical crane that was towering over the back of the stadium (likely constructing a new dorm building), and say, “Mommy look at that dragon!” It blew me away. I meant, it totally captivated me. At that moment, I realized that I had forgotten I had an imagination. It stole my attention all night, and here I am telling you the story today. I promised myself from that moment on that I would do whatever I could to continue to tap into and believe in my imagination. So why does it stop? What if you were me in that story, and I was the little boy? But, let’s say for a second that, I wasn’t a little boy, but rather me, today, the Brian you know. We’re all meandering to the game, and you look over and see 44-year-old Brian say, “Look at that dragon!” What would you think? Would you judge me? Would it be weird? Would you tell yourself, your significant other, or kids that there’s a crazy guy right there? Can you remember a time that you tapped into your imagination and did something off the wall like dress crazy, get a funky haircut, dance when nobody else was, roll your windows down in the rain – and you didn’t care what anybody thought? Do you remember how free you felt? How invigorated you were? This to me is the soul of living. The little boy exclaimed he saw a dragon because he saw a dragon. The closer we are to birth, the more anything is possible. Have you ever witnessed a baby go from birth to walking, to speaking English in 12 months? Conversely, have you seen an adult trying to learn to walk again, or speak a new language? It doesn’t make sense: the adult should have more strength, more wisdom, and more resources for education… Anything should be possible as an adult, yet we limit our imagination with self-thought driven by what others think. In my opinion, that’s the difference. Before I go on, a little secret: life is not fair. It can be easy because easy is relative, but it is not fair. No matter the circumstances, life can be fun. It’s time for life to be fun. It’s time to drop negative self-speak, stop caring what people think, stop conforming to social norms or other people’s expectations, and use your imagination again. Did you hear me? AGAIN! It is in there, and it has always been in there. Practice finding that imagination. Get some colored pencils and draw, paint, dance, sing, dust off the guitar, beat the drum (your metaphorical drum), or play a game. No matter how unfair life can be, we can make it fun. Choose for it to be fun today. When you get in your car, pick that song, turn it up, and sing your face off until you catch at least one person staring. Then wish for them that they could feel as good as you do.