I haven’t posted anything here in a long time, but I realized that I get caught up in life just as everyone else does. Work, family, gym, groups, and friends can make it very easy for me to put off writing during this time. I’d like to think that I’m more dedicated than I am, but I’m really just like everyone else.
Yet, I realize that taking a break from things is just what we need sometimes. Recently, I took a week off from the gym and I noticed that I was able to come back with a renewed and re-invigorated approach to my workouts. I still do the same exercises, but my body feels like it’s responding a little bit better to exercise than it had before.
I’ve also been struggling to edit my current novel. Once I would get home at night and settle into some space in which I could work, I just didn’t have the motivation to do it. It didn’t help that I was enjoying binge watching some old episodes of Modern Family either. But having a good and hearty laugh is just what I needed at that time. Today, my first day off in a long time, I was able to edit almost 15 pages.
I needed a break from talking about sexual abuse, too. There are times it seems like the only relevant thing in my life, and I slowly start to think that my entire identity is built around that one event. It was refreshing to be away for a while, not thinking about childhood trauma, and giving my emotions a rest from the energy it takes to dive into those feelings. I’m hoping that this will lend me to more fruitful and more enriching posts in the future. I want to encourage you to take a look at your own life to see if there are things you need to step away from, even for a few days, so that you can gain a fresh perspective on it.
Harry L. Estes 