It’s been far too long since my last post. I’ve been feeling very uninspired, and everything that comes to mind seems to be dead in the water. But as any creative mind will tell you, inspiration can not be forced. It’s actually quite a paradox. The harder you search for it, the less you will find. Of course, having anxiety doesn’t make this situation any easier because the more time that passes without an inkling to write, the more I freak out because I convince myself that it is never coming back.
I should know better by now. I spent 20+ years with little to no interest in writing after suffering burnout from essay writing in college, amongst other issues, but suddenly it found me again last year. To think that it was gone, never to return, is ridiculous, but that is what I am when I let the anxiety take hold: ridiculous. So, instead of spending time looking for something that I can’t actually find and getting so worked up that I drag myself down, I decided to take a deep breath, relax, and let life happen, but always keep my eyes open; if it is going to find me again, it will, but if not, I already lived the majority of my life without it, so c’est la vie.
In the meantime, I thought I would write this blog post in a way of helping others who might be experiencing the same issue out. Then it dawned on me that deciding to write a poem and blog post about a lack of inspiration is inspiration in and of itself. And so the paradoxical plot thickens.
But before I get stuck in my own self-produced slurry, let me just get to my point: don’t get too stressed out if you’re lacking inspiration. One thing I have definitely learned in this life is that if you have a creative mind, you always will. Even if it isn’t exactly what you were doing before, the urge to create something will return. So go with the old cliché and ‘go with the flow’.
**Update**
On a side note, I wanted to let everyone know that my second book, Reclaiming My Flame, is complete, and I have entered it in a contest sponsored by Milkweed Publishing. IF I win (*fingers crossed*), they will publish it for me.
The contest doesn’t close until October 15th, and I won’t know anything for sure until February 2022, but I will let you guys in on any news as soon as I find out.
As always, thank you to everyone for the love and support; it means the world to me.
Beth Melton, Writer And Poet 