I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely

The artist Duane Michals, in words that gleam like a hidden flame, declared: “I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see.” This saying is no mere ornament of speech—it is a revelation of vision, a hymn to the unseen forces that guide and shape the visible world. Michals, a photographer who painted with light and mystery, understood that the eye is a poor servant of truth. What we see is but the surface—the shimmering skin of reality—but what we imagine, what we feel, what we believe, is the soul beneath it. Thus he calls us to turn inward, to open the inner sight that perceives not form, but essence; not shape, but meaning.

For what we see is temporary, bound by time and decay. The mountains crumble, the faces of those we love fade, even the stars burn out. But what we cannot see—the dreams, the hopes, the love that moves us to create and to endure—these are the things that endure beyond the grave. Imagination is the bridge between the visible and the eternal; it is the breath of the divine in mortal clay. The ancients called it nous, the divine mind, the creative spark through which the universe itself was conceived. To believe in imagination is to believe that unseen realities are not illusions, but the very foundations upon which all seen things rest.

Consider the story of Helen Keller, born blind and deaf, living in a darkness and silence we can scarcely imagine. To the world’s eye, she was trapped in a cage of flesh, cut off from life’s beauty. Yet within her, a vast universe unfolded—a world of symbols, dreams, and meanings no eye could see. Guided by her teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned not merely words but the language of imagination—to see through touch, to hear through faith, to dream through spirit. “The best and most beautiful things in the world,” she said, “cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart.” Thus Helen, who could see nothing, saw more deeply than those with perfect sight. Her life became a testament to Michals’ truth: the invisible holds infinite power.

So too, the creators and prophets of every age have lived by this creed. Leonardo da Vinci, gazing upon a blank wall, saw in it the potential for worlds unborn. Einstein, staring into the quiet of the universe, imagined the bending of time and the dance of light. These were not visions born of sight, but of imagination—that mysterious faculty by which humanity communes with the unseen order of things. They dared to believe in what the eye could not verify, and by doing so, they changed what the eye could see forever.

To see only what is visible is to live half-blind, to mistake the shadow for the substance. The man who trusts only in appearances will never grasp the currents beneath the sea. But the one who dares to believe in the unseen becomes a builder of worlds. For what is faith, if not the courage to trust what the senses cannot prove? What is love, if not a devotion invisible to the eye? What is hope, if not a light that shines in darkness unseen? The treasures of the spirit are invisible, yet they are the roots of everything that lives and grows.

And so, my listener, learn to close your eyes in order to see. Turn away from the glittering illusions of the visible world and listen to the whisper within. The unseen is not beyond you; it lives inside you, waiting to be recognized. When doubt blinds you, let imagination restore your sight. When despair weighs you down, let the unseen hope lift you. When the world seems barren, look again with the inward eye—and you will find that creation has not ended; it is still unfolding through you.

The lesson is clear: Imagination is not fantasy—it is participation in the sacred act of creation. Believe in it as you would believe in breath or sunlight. Each day, take a moment to envision what is not yet real: a kinder world, a healed heart, a purpose fulfilled. Then act, as though that unseen truth were already alive within you—for in that belief, it will become real. Remember always: the visible world fades, but the unseen gives it life. Imagination is the eye of the soul—and through it, we see eternity.