To The Stagnant One,
At times it feels like I am slowly dying on the inside; withering away while some infectious disease slowly eats away at me. No, I am not sick. Physically, I am fine. Emotionally and mentally, I am dying from starving my spirit of what it desperately craves. This is what happens when there is a war taking place between body and spirit. This feeling is birthed when the fuel that formerly ignited your passion, has completely ran dry like hopeless wishing wells. I don’t know how I arrived at this despairing place, but I desire to break through these walls that have swallowed me up. I am ready to be spit out from the belly of the beast so that I can plant seeds of hope to the hopeless again, help heal the broken again and impact the lives of others through my gift of words; again. If you have a relationship with words, in the most fiercely passionate way, you have probably been in this exact place. The place that captures many of us in this community, the place that is most feared by people like you and I. Writer’s Block.
The daunting thing about writer’s block is that you never know what side of the spectrum you will end up on when it comes knocking at your door. Maybe you are struggling to develop the archnemesis in your story or stuck trying to form your traumatic experience into a poem heart-wrenching poem. Both are frustrating moments, but these are “light” in comparison to the other side of the spectrum. The darkest, vicious and ugliest side. The side where you put your pen down for years or never open the Word app on your laptop again. The side where you abandon your relationship with words without even giving an explanation as to why. The truth is that you do not even know why you left. All you know is that the fire you once had has now turned into a flickering flame. You still love it, but you do not know how to express your love for it anymore.
I am here to let you know that the flame can be rekindled. One day at a time, you can climb out of that dark hole and discover your passion for writing again. I do not know what this process entails, nor do I know how long it will take to escape it. All I know is that it starts with remembering your why. It starts with knowing that somebody somewhere is desperately wanting to read what you have to say. It starts with being intentional. It starts with you. Cling onto the hope that if writing is your purpose, your gift, your passion, your purpose; then it can never die. Pour life into it again — transform your relationship with words from life support to vitality. At times it feels like I am slowly dying on the inside, but then I remember that healing is possible.
See You Soon,
Malia
