"Passing though Funk-ville..."

Who's got time to be in a creative funk? Not me...

Yet, we all find ourselves in Funk-ville on occasion. Stuck in a rut, out of creative gas. You know the signs: too much work, too little time, too late nights, too little sleep, a broken heart, a bent fender, a crabby client, a colicky child...etc., etc., etc.

You find yourself staring at the computer, at the sketch pad, at the canvas, at the sheet music, at the list of deadlines, and you can't imagine how you'll find the motivation and inspiration to get to where you need to be from where you are... Funk-ville, USA. I've been there. I think they even have a street named after me.

But hey! There's a way out!

And you don't need to change anything external in your life. Funk-ville is really an "internal" thing going on...your creative force is blocked...and your body / mind /spirit is giving you signs that you need to make a shift. Sometimes it's as easy as this: Take a break, take a walk, take a hot shower or a warm bath, call a good friend, take a nap. Put on some good music and dance.

Whatever you need to do that nurtures you in that moment. Do it. Leave the deadlines for half an hour or more, and do whatever your inner-self most needs, but may not know how to ask for. You just gotta shift the energy.

The movement of creative energy is a real, tangible thing in our lives. It ebbs and flows like the tides. When we're feeling good, the flow is strong. When we're tired or stressed, the energy is restricted. What opens the flow is happiness, joy, laughter, awe, movement, excitement. Lots of things can get your creative energy flowing in new directions and move the funk right through. Though, everyone is different, and what works for me may not work for you.

That's why listening to your inner voice when you're stuck at the stoplight in Funk-ville is so important. That inner voice is your internal-anti-funk-guidance system. It knows the cure. Listen to it. Whatever it says to do: Laugh, cry, hug somebody, punch a pillow, take deep breaths, do some yoga, square dance, then do it! Do whatever YOU need to move the energy, and shift the mood! Experiment! I usually hit the funk-bump when I look at the work I'm doing and think that I could be doing something "more" creative...more productive...more meaningful to further life in the cosmos at that moment. OK, maybe that's a little much... but that's how it feels sometimes. When it hits, then I go visit my favorite oak trees. Or, since I'm in Utah, I take a walk, take a few deep breaths and gaze at one of my favorite photos of oak trees at my desk.

Oak trees always seem to help me remember the big picture...to see the overall journey of my life instead of this small bump in the road. I remember that the writing I'm doing now is like weight lifting. I'm building my writing muscles so I can handle the really big, cosmically important stuff that I'm going to write once I'm through with this other, "practice" stuff. That gives me focus, balance. When I return to the keyboard, I bring new energy with me, new determination, and new creative flow. And, I usually find that the work is different. Because I'm different. My creative energy has shifted.

I remember that the seeds of my BIG LIFE PURPOSE are contained in what I'm doing here and now. It's part of the Einstein thing -- past, present and future are all here in the NOW. Whatever we're learning and whatever skills we're developing at this moment, will fit perfectly into that big picture. I just might not see it yet.

There's magic in the practice stuff. Be glad it's there. Be patient with it. It gives us the strength to do the greater things that we know we're here to do. And sometimes, the practice stuff magically turns into the greater stuff when you're not even looking.