Throughout the day, a thousand tasks from my never-ending to-do list invade my thoughts with persistent reminder notifications. While keeping the peace and minimizing my workload are my top priorities, these pesky intrusions feel like groundhogs on an otherwise carefree, kayak-riding Saturday.
I’ll tackle the shrub planting, client rescheduling, deck rail staining, and the other 997 tasks another day.
The lyrics of VNV Nation ignited a spark of creativity within me. Even though I can’t recall any specific thoughts from yesterday, I sense a bubbling, like a cool brook waiting to be cupped in my hands for a drink. But will I be able to seize the moment?
Capturing creativity is akin to reviewing camera photos and discovering that the majority came out blurry or overexposed. The moment is there, and then it’s gone, never to be seen or heard from again. In books and articles on writing, authors credit the practice of keeping notecards and notebooks on hand, ready to capture inspiration in the wild. It’s a best practice, but it would require me to start placing them by my bedside and in my pockets daily.
Elusive creativity, like the rarest of jungle animals, emerges only during the eclipse of the fifth year. It seeks companionship with the most patient, the most present, and the most persistent. Any demands placed upon it, signaled by impatient glances at the watch or eye rolls, cause it to burst apart like a sudsy bubble at the hands of a toddler.
So, I’ll secure the tent with stakes and settle onto my sleeping pad and snug 20-degree down sleeping bag, preparing for the upcoming season. The days and nights will be long, distractions aplenty, but a warrior’s mind is disciplined and boundless.
Do I have what it takes? This unanswerable question resonates within us all, a call to greatness or a risk of falling short. Let’s pull up our bootstraps, lower our shields, and march into battle once and for all.
For once and for all,
Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 