"it's what imagination means"

Stephen Fry is so good at everything I've seen him do that I really shouldn't be surprised that his new blog is worth adding to my "Fifty Recommendations" blogroll over in the sidebar after only his second post. Today's entry is worth whatever length of time it takes you to read it.

For him, the following passage was but a passing thought, but I suspect I'll remember it for quite a while:

Much of success in life comes from being able to put yourself in the shoes of another: in the shoes of a prince or a pauper, a dictator or a dick-head, a burgomaster or a burger-flipper, regardless of degree, status or esteem, it’s what imagination means – the ability to penetrate the consciousness and experience of another.