Finding Your Own Sparkle Valley

Apr 17
5 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

What Abigail’s choice actually means—and how it applies in real life

We talked about Abigail's choice, and how she sacrificed herself to keep imagination alive for Emily. I was asked what this means practically. It all comes across as very dramatic on the page, but what’s the take away? What does it mean to find your own Sparkle Valley?

The Drift

Let’s start with the numbness, a disconnected life. No play. Your inner world (imagination) gets crowded out by efficiency and expectations. This is what Emily faces. And this is what we all face, especially now.

In Sparkle Valley this shows up as a world that's literally falling apart. But it points to something that's very real. Because the Valley becomes fragile when everything becomes rooted in efficiency, or a system. It's when life gets flattened, organized.

Odilon Redon – The Dream (Le Rêve) (c. 1904) — Odilon Redon – *The Dream (Le Rêve)* (c. 1904)

Sparkle Valley is the part of you that still imagines. The part that still plays. It's the part that still feels, and sees meaning instead of just function. And this is the important part. Sparkle Valley doesn't fade. It's just that you stopped looking for it.

The Romantics

This is something that the Romantics understood. They took imagination seriously. It was essential. And that's where the Blue Flower comes in. That's the pull, the yearning. That's the refusal to settle for a life that's reduced. None of that has changed over the last 200 or 250 years. In fact, if anything, it's more pronounced now.

So here's the $64,000 question, what do you actually do about it? Let's get practical. Because this is where most of the stuff usually falls apart and you get these platitudes like be "present" or "stay creative". But that's not really helpful. Let's get something concrete. An example..

I've got a good one. Look to Abigail.

Marc Chagall – The Circus Horse (1964 — Marc Chagall – *The Circus Horse* (1964

Because remember, at the end of Book 3, she's holding the one thing that could solve everything. The Powder of Life. She could use it and make her dream come true, become Emily's real sister. That's the perfect outcome. It's clean and it's resolved. But she destroys it.

Why?

It's easy to misunderstand, but it’s the move.

We've talked about the fact that she sacrifices herself for Emily. And how her decision is what keeps Emily’s imagination alive. But make no mistake, this is a decision. An “impossible” one. But this decision doesn't kill what matters. She keeps things open.

And that's the difference between finishing something, which is what reality demands (you can't leave everything open), and just shutting it down. Because although using the Powder of Life may seem like the perfect solution, it would actually flatten Emily's world. And this is what Abigail sees. She keeps that tension between imagination and reality, which the Powder would take away. So Emily's story won't end.

But again, we need to be very clear, this does not mean that you should not "finish" things. Not at all. Otherwise you turn into a Frank Needlenose. Commit, like Abigail. Live in the real world. But also don't close things off like Hank.

The Path

Very often people choose that safe, Hank-like path. But don’t be a Hank. Or you might turn something that could be meaningful (e.g. the Laboratory) into something that ends up being managed, or even worse, shut down. Usually it’s to stop discomfort or just avoid the hassle. Hank does it to stop the pain of losing his brother. That’s the Powder of Life. That’s the shortcut.

And of course, sometimes shortcuts are fine. But don’t just make it all about efficiency and comfort. Be strong. Or you may be closing things off too early and missing something. And that's the balance. Because you can't avoid reality. But don't give up imagination. You can have both.

So what does this look like in real terms? Finish the thing, sure, if reality demands it. But stay responsive and open rather than rigid.

And now let's talk about something very interesting, something that seals the deal for me. Because there are two aspects to this. One is the everyday aspect, keeping yourself from going flat. The other is at a totally different level.

The Sublime

This aspect of decision-making that we haven’t really discussed yet is something like openness to the sublime. It's when you actually get close to the Blue Flower (you never actually reach it of course). And it goes something like this:

Think of it like a runner, in training. If you keep choosing again and again like Abigail, you are actually in a way training yourself to see the beauty in the world. And that means every once in a while you’ll hit the jackpot. You’ll encounter something that moves you and shakes you to your core—a moment of awe that logic can't explain.

Here’s an example: I was at the 2012 Olympics in London when the Brit Mo Farah won the 5000m. I still think about that evening and the way he held off the other runners over the final three laps. The stadium was literally shaking, louder than a jet engine, and 80,000 people were willing him across the finish line. And the noise moved in waves as they circled the track—one long crescendo that built for over 3 minutes. The connection we all felt in the stadium, watching this fragile runner trying to stay in front of the other runners (like a blue flower). The pack was trying to swallow him up, but every time they began to move past, he found something else. He kept fighting. And then the release when he crossed the finish line. It’s a moment that’s still with me all these years later.

Why? Because people cared.

There are many more moments, and of course personal moments with much more at stake than a running race, that stay with me, that give a life meaning. But the point in all this is that for a moment to last, you have to care. And that caring, that feeling, not only shouldn’t be taken for granted, it needs to be chosen. You’re not going to get it in a flattened life. Like Abigail, you need to fight and fight to not to let the thin places thicken.

So this is what finding your Sparkle Valley is all about. It’s about Blue Flower Power. Because at the end, Abigail consciously decides to choose the version of a world that doesn't resolve everything for her. It's the hard choice—"impossible." But it's choice that keeps Emily’s spark—the Blue Flower–alive. And that's the path.