Back in the fall of 2016, I decided that I was out of shape. I hadn’t ever been much of an athlete, but I had the urge to get in shape. I took a wind trainer, a device to which you attach any road bike that turns it into a stationary bike, and set it up in my basement near my TV. I spent alternating nights through that winter riding while watching Star Trek on Netflix. It took a while, and the early going was rough, but eventually, I could sustain a good workout for the whole length of a show. Since then I moved to running outdoors in good weather and on a treadmill in bad, but I’ve kept with it and am happy I can run 7 or 8 kilometers. That’s better than I could manage in my 20s.
Creativity is like a muscle, and like a real muscle, it stays toned and strong through regular work. Slack off your routine, and like any other muscle, it goes soft and flabby. Building it back up is an exercise. Regular workouts get it back to the level where it’s able to perform readily and work like a pro.
I just have to figure out what exercises to do to get back to form. This is a good start; writing in my blog on a regular basis. Like my journey to better health, this quest to recapture my creativity involves a lot of early pain. Trying to find things to write about is difficult going at the moment. In the end though, it will be worth it.
Dispatches from Obscurity 