Writer's Block No More!

I do not reflect anymore; not the way I used to anyway.

It suddenly hit me as I sat there wondering why writing has become so strained and unbecoming, when it once resembled air. Lack of it was unimaginable. I would wake up ready to write. In moment of apparent idleness I would be writing in my head. The calluses on my middle finger were testimony to that. Rough and stubborn as they were, I thought they were there for life. Now I only see traces of them. They tell the story of a life that used to be built around writing.

When did writing slowly stop being second nature to me? I have my answer now. Reflection. I do not reflect anymore. If it was not reflection that I was doing, however, why do I often catch myself in deep thought?

Reflecting and thinking are like shadows playing hide and seek with each other on a temperamental day. Thinking is a tool that forms part of the reflection process. Reflection is the all round experience of delving into a different dimension. Exploring. Seeking. Thinking - yes - but that is only a small part of reflecting. Divulging meaning, and translating it into thought. Taking a concept and going with it where one's mind has not been before. Finding one's self in a new mental arena and, in the process, understanding. Realising. Reflecting.

For all those who suffer from the so called writer's block, therefore, this is your answer. At least I know this is mine.

New Year or Belated Resolve?

It has been a month into the new year; the new decade. Any resolutions that had been made in the line up to the new year are now broken. This is the time really. After all the excitement of a change wanes, one settles into routine. Habit that was hibernating to allow for the moment, sets in once again. Yesterday is no different than today. January 2010 does not seem to make a profound impact than January 2009 did. No - if any a time was right to break resolutions and realise that time is not of essence it is now. Or is it?

Belated resolve. That is what I would like to call it. I confess that I did conform and made myself a long list - a mental list - of new year resolutions. I also made another list of new decade resolutions; just to add to the buzz of change. I was careful though, not to write anything down, just so that I would not be bitterly disappointed later at my inability to keep promises that I had made to myself. Now that all the conformity has abated, however, I can be serious enough to commit myself to change.

People often wonder how to stick to resolutions once made. For one, it needs to be engrained into one's needs. Something that drives one to achieve or do something. A resolution is often broken when it is brought to life on the spur of a moment. Spontaneity and resolve do not work hand in hand. The former is like a free bird, taking off whenever it gets the whim, while the latter has the backing of a whole system that is made up mainly of drive and motivation. Add to these any other factors that make a goal achievable.

January may be the start of a new year. For me it is February that confirms that change is about to come for this year, the next one and for the whole decade.