Inspiration: Taking a break

For the last few Wednesdays, I ' v e  t r i e d  t o  w r i t e  a l l  d a y.


I get up in the mornings, light the fire, turn on my computer and wait for the inspiration...and I w a i t...and I write a few words then delete them because they don't make sense or they're just plain boring...and I w a i t some more.  


Some days you just can't force the inspiration. 
Some days you wonder where on earth you ever got inspiration from.


On those days, I get to the end of the day and feel exhausted. I feel like I've wasted the day and that frustrates me. I feel like this time, these Wednesdays, they're a gift and I should be making the most of every second, not staring into space, not playing with the fire,  not watching another episode of Grey's Anatomy, not making ANOTHER cup of tea, not looking at everyone else's inspiring projects on Pinterest (if you don't know what Pinterest is, don't look it up - you will never have any free time again).


Today, I took a break.


I woke up early, but didn't force myself to get out of bed. I had an early appointment, after which, I had coffee with a friend. I had to get a couple of things, so I pottered around the shops for a bit, then I came home, put a few things in boxes for the big house move this week and then sat down to write. And you know, I feel so much more rested and less pressured than I have for a few weeks.


Looks like I lost sight (again) of what these days are about. Yes, I want to use them to write, but not to the point that writing becomes a chain that ties me down, a thing I have to do. I think I've got enough of those things in my life (don't we all?). Much more than writing, these days are about breathing again. They are about taking time out of the every day things to take a deep breath and remember what I want to spend each breath on.


And what I've found is that, by having that time, by taking the time out on Wednesdays, for the rest of the week, I'm thinking about what to write about and how to write it. The thoughts just pop up - I just need to make sure I've always got a piece of paper handy. 
I'm being inspired every day. For the last four years, I've been completely lacking in inspiration. I've hardly written at all because I haven't known what to write about. But I think that just by taking the time out, by letting my brain take a break from the routine, there is so much more room for inspiration to overflow into every day.


What I've realised is that I need to make sure that Wednesday doesn't become just part of the routine. So sometimes that means that Wednesday is for a coffee date, a walk, some shopping.


From that comes the inspiration...