Insights: "Ideas are Like Rabbits"

Ideas are like captured rabbits. They are all within the pen of your mind. They multiply two ways: 1) by being introduced into the pen by outside sources (i.e. experiences), and 2) by giving birth (i.e. new ideas created through association).
We start life with no rabbits in the pen, but then through external sources (experiences) a few rabbits are dropped over the pen’s fenced walls. Bit by bit, the number of rabbits grows through more outside sources and through giving birth to other rabbits (association of ideas).

So here they are, all of these rabbits within the pen of your mind, that is, your imagination. So many different kinds of rabbits: some big, others small; some brown, others white; some lop-eared, others pointy-eared; some slow, others quick . . . you get the idea. So it is with the creative ideas penned up in our imaginations. So many different kinds of ideas, so many different applications, so many solutions.

And, boy, are they hard to catch! If you chase after these rabbits full steam, you will find it very difficult to catch one. But, by dint of perseverance, you will finally exhaust a rabbit and will soon find it easy to lay hold of the little ball of fluff. So it is with creative ideas; never give up; if it seems to elude you, chase it until it becomes to exhausted to hide anymore. But, you have to be in good enough shape to outlast the rabbit. It is no good if you wear out first. So make sure your mind is highly trained, prepared for the chase.

You will also have a better chance of catching one of these rabbits the more there are in the pen. So it is with creative ideas. Cultivate them. . . seek experiences. . . allow the ideas to give birth to new ideas through association. Soon there will be so many ideas in the pen of your imagination that it will be easy to catch one. The difficult part here is choosing the correct and useful one out of the bunch.

Sometimes, these rabbits are easier to catch if you simply stay still. Sit down, relax, let the rabbits become so comfortable with you that they come to you. So it is with creative ideas. Perhaps you should stop striving so painstakingly after the solution and just relax. Let the ideas come to you. While you are relaxing, why not lure the rabbits to you with a carrot? So it is with ideas. Lure them to you. Bait them. Draw them to you with a nice walk, a warm bath, the sound of running water. Don’t worry, they will come.