these days (and some bloggity-blahs)
I’m not a blah-feeling person very often. For a couple of weeks, though, it seems like I’m battling the blahs a lot. I’m not sure if it’s the change in seasons (it’s cold and the aspens are turning gold!) or the string of cloudy days we’ve been having, or if it’s just plain me. I just know that I’m not very motivated to do much of anything. I can barely crack my Bible open to read a snippet–my heart just isn’t there. Art, anything creative, and even blogging has been a drag. I usually love working out, but now I feel like I have leaden arms and legs at the very thought. Blah.
All I’ve been doing are the necessary things of life. Cleaning, cooking (lasagne, enchiladas, and meatballs this week), getting the kids to the park on weekends–the “Rock park” above is Arapahoe Ridge Park in Boulder–taking Cash out on our two-mile daily walk while the kids are at school, doing homework with Zia, reading to the kids before bed, giving baths, and of course brushing teeth.
I’ve been feeling the winds of change sweeping through me, the yearning to live life better. I think these blahs might be the precursor, the calm before the storm. Have you ever felt that? It’s like a baby having a frustrated season just before a new milestone–rolling over, crawling, walking, talking. The frustration gives way to a whole new world. I’m hoping that happens to me, soon.
I feel stagnant and repetitive like I’m somehow missing the mark. It’s as if I’m walking around and around in a very small circle, wearing a rut into the ground. There’ so much more to life, and I want to live it so much better.
I don’t want to just read my Bible faithfully (I’m not even doing that!), but I want to love God wildly, and live like it. I don’t want to just paint uninspiring pictures or knit little dishcloths, I want creativity to course through me and pour out of me. I don’t want to just go on blogging about our park days and homemade dinners and our little sphere of life here, I want to blog things that people are hungry for, that help them, that meet a need. I don’t want to live at or above our income level–I want to find a way to simplify our life so that we can pay off our debts and have a surplus for others.
So that’s my rant for the day, but hey, it got me off my duff and blogging. (Actually I’m blogging on my duff, but whatever works, at this point.)
So I’m hoping for a breath of fresh air and some new direction to come my way. And I was wondering, do you ever have blahs like these? And have they helped bump you out of a rut? Please say yes!!!
Yes, oh YES I have blahs like this!!! Here’s what I do when they come:
~ Drink lots of tea and just read good books and listen to good music. Gotta fill up my creative cup, I guess.
~ Take a Creative Retreat, by yourself preferably, or with a creative partner or friend. At least twenty-four hours.
~ Make yourself write Morning Pages (Julie Cameron style) for a week. Sit down to the empty page and start writing. Creative thoughts may not necessarily come, but you might figure out some things about life or yourself in the process.
~ Read some books on creativity.
~ I like to go back to what I’ve written in my “Unraveling the Year Ahead” pages to remind myself of my dreams and goals and hopes. It’s totally awesome! http://www.susannahconway.com/2013/12/lets-make-some-magic-in-2014/
Thanks, Lyssa! I’ll check out your link. I am reading some good books, and I’m about to start Seven, by Jen Hatmaker. Have you read it? Also, I’ve been thinking I need to start some Morning Pages…
I think everyone has blah moments like that. If life was always so filled with energy we would burn ourselves out. Maybe this is your bodies way of resting and recovering for what comes next. Sometimes the biggest messages come in the quiet blah moments. Listen for them.
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