......Avoidance

I have found myself, the last few days, without a whole lot to say. They haven’t been bad days or outstandingly good days, just kind of uninteresting. I’ve been cleaning out files, books shelves, old shoes, clothes closet. Cleaning the floors, throwing away out-dated spices, unidentifiable bags of bulk something (corn starch I think but not sure) and non-matching silverware. So really, what in all that would interest any of you?

Even though all of those things needed to be done, how much of the drive to accomplish it was avoidance? I have 4 knitting projects to finish, 3 outfits to cut out and sew, 1 canvas to paint for the bedroom, gazillions of photos to scan in and crop for my website. I should be filling my sketchbook for at least 20 minutes everyday, a French film from Netflix to watch (teaching myself French)……well I could go on but I think you get the idea. Being creatively paralyzed the last few days, instead of making myself push through the wall, I avoided the block by focusing on mundane more “important” tasks.

Now of course I was not going to accomplish that list all in the last three days, but how much more satisfying would it have been creatively to tackle at least one item each day? There are many websites out there geared toward artists, photographers, and all types of creatives, but I think the same words apply to everyone regardless of their goals or talents. There are days a business owner has to be just as creative in finding a solution as a screenwriter stumped on the third act. Their mediums maybe different but the blocks have the same paralyzing effect.

Everyone needs those days where you do a whole lot of nothing, to recharge the batteries so to speak, but how do you keep those days from taking over your life. How much of your life have you missed out on because you HAD to vacuum and dust the house instead of going to the park with your kids, or a movie with your partner? What connection did you miss out on because you skipped dinner with friends to stay home and “get caught up?’ There has to be a balance in your life between the everyday mundane chores that keep your life in order and the chaotic, spontaneous jolts that keep your brain creatively charged.

So my question for everyone today, what are you avoiding?