A new condo development in my town has a local resident very concerned, and one concern is that it will block the view of the river.

I tried to put myself in her place. Is it fair for a long-time resident to have their river view blocked by a new condo?

Part of me thought it would be a little disappointing, and so I empathized with this resident.

I decided to walk down to the location of the new condo to have a look for myself.

At the moment, they’ve just started breaking ground on the project, so when you go there, you just see a lot of dirt where the condo will be.

I took my camera and stood in front of the houses behind the Condo. I then videotaped from multiple angles around the lot.

It took about 0 seconds to discover that there is no view of the river from that location. The only thing that is visible is an office. Behind the office there is indeed a river, but it is not visible from behind where the condo will be.

It made me wonder why a grown adult would complain about a condo development blocking the view of the river when there is currently no view of the river.

It made me think of childhood imaginary friends.

Some children develop a friendship with an imaginary friend to help them to navigate their way through their childhood.

According to WebMD, Imaginary friends are popular with toddlers and 65% of children may have an imaginary friend between their toddler years and turning 7.

However, if you are over the age of seven, for example 55, having an imaginary friend may be highly frowned upon.

But by all appearances, what is less frowned upon is having an imaginary river.

After coming back from the condo lot, I began thinking of some of the possible benefits of having an imaginary river.

Raising objections to a large construction project because it could block a river view that you don't currently have is troubling. For an individual to go that far, there must be some very real benefits to having an imaginary river.

These are some of the scenarios that I came up with for how a grownup could benefit from having an imaginary river.

Five benefits of having an imaginary river

• Peacefully sipping coffee and looking out at the beautiful water in the river that is not there.
• Experiencing a sense of deep gratitude for your home’s stunning view of the river that is not there.
• Inviting stressed friends to visit with the lure of a non-existent beautiful river view.
• Watching fish jump out of the water and back into the water in the river that is not there.
• Before bedtime, gazing at the moonlight reflecting on the imaginary river.

After carefully considering these benefits, I can understand now why a grownup would want to have an imaginary river. Less stigma. It is an entry-level way to have an imaginary life over the age of seven.

I have a plan to avoid judgy thoughts the next time I walk by that area. I will just walk extra fast, keep my head down and tell myself what I tell myself in situations like these; “I don’t have to understand everything that goes on in this world.”

Originally published on July 10, 2023