It’s funny how quickly bad habits can raise their ugly head, even when you think you’ve chopped them down far enough to give you a bit of a break.
So, as I’ve said in previous posts, I was on vacation last week and pretty productive. However, by Tuesday THIS week I found myself sitting in front of the computer, slack-jawed, eyes vacant, drooling just a bit, scrolling through cat pictures on Facebook because I really don’t care about royal babies. I realized what I was doing, I realized that I was not writing. I realized that I had, once again, wasted all of the time I’d set aside for writing looking at cats I would never own, while the ones I DID own sat and stared up at me hoping for food and attention. Then I thought, “Eh, the hell with it. You’re still finding your feet after vacation. Cut yourself a little slack.”
That’s when my Muse, engorged with power after being the focus of all of my attention for seven days, grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, shook me, and smacked me upside the head.
“Too much slack will take you back!” she screamed. *smack, smack, smack* “Too much slack will take you back!”
And you know what? She’s right. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and the slide down into the pit of destruction starts with inconsequential moments. Little decisions that don’t seem to mean anything at the time you’re making them. The decision to spend a half hour staring at Facebook instead of using that half hour to follow your plans and hopes and dreams. The decision to check out the latest celebrity scandal instead of worrying about your own stuff.
Cutting yourself too much slack can be fatal to hopes and dreams.
That’s not to say we don’t need mindless moments of amusement in our lives – we do. Sometimes you just need to shut down completely – although I submit that drooling over cats you will not own or royal babies you will not birth is perhaps not the best way to chill out. But there has to be in balance. Some slack in the rope will help you climb the mountain. Too much slack and you’ll fall to the gorge below. It’s just that simple, and that difficult.
While I try to figure it out, I’m going to do my best to listen to my Muse. Too much slack will take me back and I’d rather not go there, thanks all the same.
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