when you just can't write and you shouldn't even try

 

Let’s face it. Old Man Life sometimes insists we take a break whether we want to or not...a break from work, or from serving as a caretaker, or from parenting. 

It might be an unexpected illness or injury that stops us in our tracks.

Anterior shoulder dislocation (image: compliments of my son)

A flood or a tornado might sweep through. Worse yet would be the death of a friend or family member. You can’t work and you shouldn’t even try.

Likewise, you may sometimes be forced against your will to set aside your creative efforts, whatever it is you’re writing, drawing, composing, or performing, your efforts to create something new and beautiful, or meaningful, or entertaining. You may be sabotaged even when you’re speeding along page after page, stroke after stroke, verse after verse. Just when the finished product is within reach, you may have to take a break and tend to the Old Man. Maybe you come down with the flu, or a neighbor needs your help, or your new puppy slips out the door and disappears down the street. It may be time to give your muse some time off. Tell her you need to take a break. Promise her you'll be back. She’ll thank you with new insight, inspiration, and passion as soon as you're ready.

Maybe you’re looking forward to planning a move, or you’re preparing for a wedding or a birth in the family, or you have an exciting vacation coming up. There’s a lot to do, not a moment to think about the masterpiece moldering on your desk or which chord sounds better. You may want to invite your muse to take the day off. Then, when you're ready to get back to work you can sit down together and share your memories of the event. 

"Muse:

that mischievous little sprite

that whispers inspiration in your ear

when you least expect it."

~Dale Kinkaid~

There are times you can’t work, and you shouldn’t even try…not because you’re blocked, or lazy, or distracted, but because Old Man Life has other plans for you…plans for you to gain experience, to grow in understanding, and to tackle your feelings about it. All of which will appear sometime later on, in a melody, or on the page, or on your canvas...when you least expect it.

"Taking time to live life

will only inspire your work."

~www.artofyou.com~

It isn’t always how much we accomplish, but who we become that elevates our work. A walk in the woods elevated my work last week:

This week, I hope Old Man Life is good to you and that you and your muse have a blast together!

jan

how to write like a horse

 

This past week, a lone horse in a pasture captured my attention. I spotted him running full speed ahead from one end of his football field-sized enclosure to the other--back and forth, back and forth. No one was chasing him. No one was cheering him on. He seemed to be galloping along for the pure joy of it. To feel the wind in his mane. To stretch his legs. Like this one:

~www.123rf.com~

When he'd had enough, he simply stopped and rested. Like this one:

~horseandrideruk.com~

This, I believe, is how we should write: for the pure joy of it. Letting loose on the page. Stretching our imaginations. Letting our spirits soar without anyone questioning our motives. Writing what we can simply because we can. Without prodding. Without apology. Without restraint.

"Writing is the most fun

you can have by yourself."

~Terry Pratchett~

And we, too, should feel free to stop and rest when our joy is satisfied and our energy is spent, knowing that we can take off again any time.

Go ahead. Write like a horse!

"Release your majestic mind,

embrace your untamed inner spirit.

Break free from captivity,

avoid society...

You were born to be free."

~Melanie Moushigian Koulouris~

jan

what are you afraid of?

If you are a healthcare provider, a caregiver, or worse, if you are a patient...you're probably all too familiar with the word "fear."

"It is both a blessing and a curse

to feel everything so deeply."

~Noah Weiss~

Patients probably bear the brunt of it. When they have to wait for the test results they know will determine their fate. When they face a painful or risky procedure. When the phone rings in the middle of the night, and it's the ER calling. Parents bolt out of bed, and they are on their way. Fear can show up as dread, as hatred, as shame. It can also alert you to danger. It can deliver a jolt of adrenaline. It can be a great energizer. A motivating force. 

Fear is also fertile soil for avoidance and denial. For procrastination. For the imagination. Take the case of the middle-aged man who presents to your office with chest discomfort he describes as "indigestion"...because he's afraid to admit it could be his heart. So he fails to mention that the pain gets worse when he walks uphill. That it radiates into his neck when he lifts something heavy. That antacids haven't helped. He's afraid, all right.

Imagine the fear a parent feels when his child is rushed to the hospital because of an illness, injury, or overdose. 

What is it like for a woman who is in labor if she lost her last newborn because of a heart condition or some other unforeseen complication at the time of delivery? What could be scarier?

"Be brave my heart.

Have courage my soul."

~attribution unknown~

As ordinary human beings trying to orchestrate our personal lives outside of the office or hospital, healthcare providers are prone to some of the same fears. I take good care of myself, so I don't worry unnecessarily about my health. But I will admit to a twinge of anxiety when I was asked to return for additional views on my mammogram last year. 

I wasn't worried when my PCP picked up a few irregular heartbeats on my physical and ordered an echocardiogram. I drink a lot of coffee, so what did he expect? I wasn't worried until the tech started spreading goop all over my chest. Suddenly, I was a bit anxious about what they might find. I had rheumatic fever as a child, by the way.

There's that...and then there's the fear that stalks us through the workday. Who hasn't felt it on the way to a "code"? Will the patient need to be intubated? Will we remember the dose of bicarb or atropine to give, and when to give it? Will we be able to save this life? Fear is never far away.

"The greatest mistake we make

is living in constant fear that

we will make one."

~John C. Maxwell~

What about the patient who shows up unannounced at the office with a bad laceration? Fear kicks in. Will I get the layers right when I stitch it up? Will it look OK when it heals? What if it gets infected? 

Will the delivery go smoothly? Will the baby be okay?

Will the Narcan work in time?

"Do what you can,

with what you have,

where you are."

~Theodore Roosevelt~

Patients would probably be surprised to know how fearful healthcare providers, even physicians, can be. Deciding which tests to order and how to interpret them. Afraid of making the slightest mistake. Worried we might miss a diagnosis or botch a procedure.

Fear is like a shadow on a cloudy day. It follows us from patient to patient, unseen. They may not know it's there, but it is. It might reveal itself as frustration, impatience, or disengagement. It can cause headaches, rapid pulse, nausea, sweaty palms, or shakiness. Even in doctors. Like everybody else.

"Great fear is concealed

under daring."

~Lucan~

What are you afraid of? What will you do about it?

jan