It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve written anything on this blog, and I’m wracked with a strange sense of unease about that. I’ve hit a bit of a wall with my writing of late. I told myself this morning that I would write today, and now I have exactly 15 minutes before I have to leave the house, so I am just doing it.
“You can do it!,” I tell myself, and immediately think of Francesco, my business school classmate, who encouraged me with those words during a ropes course exercise we were doing together as part of our orientation week. Except he’s Italian, so it sounded more like, “You con doooo eeeeet!”
I was really testing my boundaries that day. Francesco and I were walking together across a “bridge” between two trees, made up of planks that were spaced a good yard apart from each other. No side railings to hold onto… we just had to balance on each plank as we reached it. We were 20 or 30 feet above the ground (I’m guessing – all I know is we were pretty high up there), and were both wearing harnesses that our classmates on the ground were connected to by rope, so technically we were pretty safe, but it sure didn’t feel like it. It would have been hard enough going across alone, and I’m not sure if it was harder or easier having a partner up there. Somehow, we made it across, and I’ve always remembered those words that helped me to make it to the other side. “You con doooo eeeeet!,” I say to myself whenever I need an extra boost… for some reason, those words in that Italian accent makes me feel like anything’s possible.
And now, this wall. As I continue to learn, this is just normal. Just this morning, I discovered a new source of inspiration, another writer who is helping others to unleash their creativity through her blog. There’s plenty of inspiration out there. It’s up to me to turn that inspiration into action.
Time’s up.
One Eyed Queen 
Well Hil…I have 15 minutes before I clock out…so I’ll write a little something too. It’s been 10 years since I graduated college, and it’s been 30 years of various jobs, and just like you, I haven’t found what I want to do when I grow up either. But I have learned one fantastic thing over the years; The people I have met along the way have been the most important part of the job. I was sure when I was little that I would save the world, but now I realize that being the best kind of person you can be to all the people that come and go in your life is saving the world. I may be working at a job that doesn’t quite fulfill me, but I know I’ve tried to be my best to everyone around me and I know my sweetheart is waiting on me at home with a warm meal, a warm bed and some super warm arms…
Times up.
Aren’t I the lucky one to have you in my life? Thanks for chiming in, Lis. I take your words to heart. 🙂
Aw, thanks for the mention! I tend to think everything is cyclical. Even blocks are productive if you can let them work their magic, work through them, and come out the other end with some deeper wisdom, experience, or self-knowledge. They’re not an excuse to not-write indefinitely, but they’re there for a reason, ya know? Hmmm … I think you just gave me the topic for an upcoming post! 🙂 -Kathy
Writing is ALL about what happens in between writing. I gave up on criticizing myself for downtimes way back in my early journalism career, when I realized that getting up from my desk mid-afternoon and wandering off for a coffee was a necessary part of then writing my story in a few minutes flat. Of course, I still struggle with the “first I’ll just make a cup of tea, and hmm.. while I’m here I should just cook up something for supper… hmm. and while I’m at it this would be a good time to clean out that cupboard… and oh, here’s that spice I was looking for – maybe I’ll just run out for 30 pounds of apples and make a quick batch of chutney” – you know.. escalating procrastination… 🙂
But back to theme: go ahead and let life happen in between writing, or there’s nothing to write about!
Yes, well, I do know better. See https://oneeyedqueen.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/moodling-procrastinating-either-way-itll-get-done/