In a rut

Isn't it funny how we can just get in a creative rut? Not funny as in "ha ha" just funny as in "howthe heck did this happen?" You know what I'm talking about... don't you? Ohh good. I thought I might be the only one. What brings moments like this on and how come I never see them creeping up on me like a bad Scooby-doo villain? Jenkies! I suspect there are warning signs yet somehow I miss them. They need to be more clear. A sign along Creative Interstate 101 which reads, "Brick wall ahead 2 days" or maybe "Inspiration Road closed July 1 - July 16. Alternate route: recycle old ideas."

I think one of the most challenging creative times are when you are expected or even pressured to be creative. When something or someone breathing down the back of your neck while you are forced to throw inspiration into high gear. The crazy thing is that most "creative-types" need some sort of deadline otherwise little actually gets accomplished. Isn't it ironic, don't you think? So what should we do to prevent these Scooby-doo villainesque attcks?

I realized that there has to be a balance in my life. You can run a machine 24 hours a day 7 days a week but, it's been proven that if you give a machine some down time each week it'll perform better for a longer time. I think the same applies to people. I know I am the type of person that will run myself into the ground just being busy with life. When I'm in some sort of rut it's usually because I've slowly allowed myself to burn out being busy which affects other areas of my life. I forgot to schedule time to just take a break and enjoy the things around me. A time to refresh. Isn't that part of what a Sabbath Day is about? On the seventh day of creation God rested. God... rested. Maybe he was really really tired. Probably not. I believe he was establishing a model for us to follow. I know it's completely against our culture to stop working and just take a day off but then again I don't think our culture was meant to govern how we live our lives.