This is a post to break into, and break out of, the recent, slowed pace, here.
Might as well do that once in a while, I think; don't you?
So I guess we'll just do that, because it's about time.
I've been having a lot of crazy and chaotic stuff going on this past while, and quite frankly, I think my psyche has been too burned out to form coherent thought whenever I sit in front of the keyboard, hoping to have some kind of illumination to begin - and finish - a post, here. Some call it "writers' block", and maybe that's exactly what you and I could call it. I only, just now remembered that term, and it seems rather perfect to describe it.
A friend of mine has been trying to begin writing in her journal regularly again, but is struggling with it, and recently I was telling her of the best way I've found to break through that inability to get through and into writing again. When I've been stuck staring at my journal (or blog, or whatever) with mental or emotional energy inside but no words to start, one of the best ways has been to just start and see where it goes. It can be as simple as, "I don't know what to write here, but...", and then go from there. Sometimes it's more like, "I really don't want to write, right now; however...", and keep going. There have been times when that has been the best way to get right down into the heart of it so I could find out what has been stalling me, and can actually be the beginning of some of my best realizations about myself or my life at that time!
Am I thinking that this post is going to be some great opening of illumination, like sun bursting through clouds? Not so much. Mostly, I thought it could be amusing as a means of demonstrating that even though we can get stuck doesn't mean we have to be stopped; at least for long. And if it happens to help pull me through another week wherein I would feel sad to not be able to share a new post with you, nor to The PB Facebook Community Page, all the better.
But really, I also created the PB Project to be a means of helping people realize they aren't alone in whatever it is they face, and hey, writers' block can be really painful and/or frightening for some, especially those who feel they need to get something out, or who write professionally and are on a time crunch! I'm not really either of those at the moment, but I have known similar experiences, so I can empathize, and so I keep typing and hope that it helps someone, somewhere, at some time. As usual.
Another thing that can take us out of our block is to do associations of gratitude. "I'm going to say I'm grateful for __, and...." For instance, I'm going to say I'm grateful for the color blue, and that is true despite the fact that I learned today that in my little fish tank I have on my desk, if I have the blue light on for very long, algae can grow faster, which is good for the new shrimp but not so much for the rest of the tank. So now...." Or, I'm going to say I'm grateful for what I've called my "incurable optimism" and my dry and occasionally dark humor, because while sometimes the things I say get "That Look", together they have helped keep me alive during the dark times, and that really can make all the difference in the world. You get the idea.
Sometimes it's nice to just take paper and a pen or pencil, and just start writing. No judgments about language, writing skills, appropriate topics, nor anything else. Sometimes it isn't even full sentences - thoughts, even! Just words, to start. Brainstorming, or stream of consciousness stuff. Just linking one word to the next by the next thought that comes. Word games, sometimes. It can be interesting to see where one thought led to another. Some of my posts are like that, come to think of it! More so in some of my previous work, but still, plenty in this one. But I actually think there is something very powerful in taking a hand to paper with a writing instrument. It is very biological, and connected to our inner beings. A direct line from our minds, through our nerves and muscles, onto the paper. Unlike tapping keys, which can become like speaking for some of us, but it just isn't the same, I think.
I'm actually rather curious what kinds of things you do when you're stuck trying to get your thoughts/feelings out? Or word games you like to play? Or whatever else you might have to say? The blog website doesn't really like to have me answer responses here, which is annoying, but if you follow the above link to Facebook where this is pinned to the top for this week, or if you're getting this from email you can reply to that and it should come straight to me, too. I actually have no idea who gets it, where, because I only get stat data about the visits to the site, not to email and so on, but I always love to get feedback! And I just spent a whole paragraph telling you that if you'd like to respond, good luck! Hah!
Better days ahead, my friends!
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