Although I have since paused working on this project and plan to return to it at a later date, at which point the book will become very different than any of its previous versions, I feel that this foreword I had written for it serves as a good follow up to my previous post about Aphantasia.
Foreword
Being human is such an incredibly puzzling experience. In so many ways we are; tied, connected, and united in our idea of what it means to be conscience and to think. But in other ways we vary drastically. Imagination is one of those beautiful areas where there are so many variants. Some of you can visually recall your favorite scene from a movie in almost perfect detail. Some can hear the sound of a train passing by, the rickety noise of the rails crying out beneath the pressure. When some of you think back to your grandma’s house you used to spend so many nights of childhood in, the smell of it fills your mind and takes you back. The idea of a favored meal will spark the subtle taste. Some of you can recall the sensation of your first kiss or the familiar grasp of a lover’s hand.
Some of you recall those sensory memories as close to real life as possible. For others it is like having the real sensation distilled, every subsequent layer a different slice of how someone can think. Some experience this for all of the senses, some for a handful, while others only experience one. There are even some like myself who possess no sensory recall, real or imagined. For all of those differences, we all carry a similarity. We all have the ability to imagine. To perceive and conceptualize things we’ve never experienced before.
Your imagination is unique and special to you. You should never forget it . You should take it with you into every book that you read. I hope that you do so with this one. I know I could use your help.
I hope you enjoy this piece of myself,
-Y.J. Sargis