Hello Dear Ones!

It’s well after noon on a sunny Monday as I sit myself down to write. I finally made it to the desk to type. It was truly a challenge for me to do so. And that has me laughing as I record these words!

Why a challenge? Were there other things happening in my life that precluded my time at the computer? No. Not unless you consider doing the dishes, sweeping and mopping the bathroom floor, reading, watching the Olympic Curling match – Canada vs. the United States – as being of more importance. Let’s see now … what else did I do this morning?

Maturity – my own – has helped me to understand one very major factor in my life. Procrastination – which for me is a major form of writer’s block – is never sitting down to write and facing a blank piece of paper or computer screen and finding nothing at all comes to my brain inspiring me to write. Procrastination is not forcing myself to sit and sit even though the brain is empty of ideas. Procrastination is not writing terrible material resulting in the frustrated scrunching up of balled and wasted paper (what Mike refers to as beginner’s origami!) nor is it the frequent use of the backspace or delete keys on my laptop.

Procrastination, for me, is simply doing anything but the very act of what it is I know I could/should do. It is plain and simple avoidance. Finding creative ways to avoid what I feel obliged to do. My creativity is momentarily misdirected to any activity other than writing. I can get very creative with things to accomplish – to the point of the ridiculous on occasion. If it weren’t for my periodic bouts of procrastination, that pile of papers building up in one drawer of the filing cabinet would never get sorted through (with most of it being recycled) and organized. The fact that it’s been building up for over 6 months now and there is no rush to get it done today or even tomorrow – and yet, for some reason, it has become the most pressing thing to do on a day when I have a book to finish or a post to write.

Sound familiar? Do you do that too? I’m not alone? Well, I’ll be …

As you may be able to envision, I’m smiling as I write all this. I give thanks to my writer’s block and my procrastination skills. They help me realize how truly human I am. They also help me get my filing cabinet kept up to date at least twice a year.

Today my bathroom is now clean – top to bottom. It practically sparkles! Plus I got this post written. I would not have found a topic for this post if it hadn’t been for the very act of procrastinating, so I’m doubly blessed.

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia