I was getting down on myself as I haven’t been productive, or at least as productive lately as I generally like to be. But there have been some added stresses to my life lately, and seriously, the creativity can’t flow when you are stressed out and in a grumbly mood. Me, in a grumbly mood? Yes, apparently I’m not always sunshine and smiles although I do try to be.

Instead of getting down on yourself about all the things you ‘should’ be doing (and please note that if you are using the word ‘should’, you are standing in judgment of yourself. Not nice!) take a moment, breathe and stop it! You’re only human. We all have crap to deal with now and again and sometimes it’s more than the old noggin can handle efficiently. So slow down, relax, unwind and detangle the jumbles of thoughts spinning in your head. Easier said than done, I get that. But sometimes you really need the downtime to do little or nothing, to let your brain and body rest.

So I did that for a couple of weeks. Went to my day job but took it easy at home most days I was off instead of doing a kazillion household chores and working on my websites. I wondered to myself how I got so much done over the winter when I was doing several art videos and building websites as well as working my day job! That much work now is unthinkable! But I noticed in my quiet time today that new concepts were hatching in my mind and ideas for new projects were springing up. I realized that I had allowed myself to be agitated and had been ruminating over things I had little control over. As I sat petting my cat last night, I noticed for the first time in a few weeks that I felt lighthearted inside, and how much I missed that!

So, if you’re a do-gooder, diplomatic, creative weirdo like me and you’re not feeling the flow, maybe it’s time to slow down and smell the roses (or coffee, seeing as this is my story!), relax and just chill for a bit. Most of what we stress over isn’t going to result in anyone’s demise, so put it on the back burner and carve out some mental health time and take care of your mind and spirit the same way you take care of your body. It’ll feel good!