February 26, 2021 – The Fifth Official Friday Night BeerBlog

I am not going to lie. Sometimes it is hard to create something out of nothing, which is what a weekly blog usually is. Most of the time an idea pops into my head by Tuesday or Wednesday and I sit down and write. But then sometimes there are weeks where I want nothing more than to sit here and type out some amusing or informative little diddy but have nuthin’. This is one of those weeks.

In other weeks like this I’ve resorted to writing about things like “Our Lowest Common Denominator”, which dealt with the fact that despite our differences in opinion we all share the biological need to poop. I was reaching, but it IS true. Note that this blog has been dropped in the archives if you missed it.

So I’m sitting here Friday afternoon trying to decide what benign topic I should expel upon today. Do I have anything inspirational in mind? Not particularly. Should I make fun of Mike? Cause that’s always fun. Maybe. What if I extolled on something philosophical? Well, I think you’d stop reading because I really can’t explain or logic my way out of a paper bag.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the old quip that everyone has a story to tell. Sure we do, but do people really want to hear all of them? Would you really want to hear about how I tweaked my calf muscle this week and hobbled around for a couple days? Or that Cate’s college has decided on a virtual graduation and so Mike and I will miss seeing BOTH of our children graduate from college due to the pandemic? No, you probably don’t. And I wouldn’t blame you because who wants to bear my bad news cross – everyone has their own to drag around.

So what story do I have to tell this week? Where is my creativity hiding? I’ll tell you that while I may not be finding a good topic for this week’s blog, I am 80 pages into writing a 100 page screenplay dealing with some emotional baggage of a personal nature. Writing is always hard, but this script has been a real slog. Not because I don’t know what to write, but because I’m having to examine a lot of thoughts, feelings, words, and experiences that I went through at one point in my life, even working through some tough issues that I thought I had dealt with a long time ago. After an hour I have to walk away.

I’ve heard that a great wave of creativity follows great emotional trial. I think all of this exploration into memory and headspace for this endeavor has left some of the outer regions of my brain flat. All the creativity is pouring out in this script and I can’t handle anything else. Everything has suffered, including my mood. But a couple more weeks and I’ll be able to put a lid on this screenplay pot and let it simmer. Then I’ll get back to it sometime over the summer when there is sunshine and warmer days to help brighten the mood while I rewrite.

So I guess the note is to use it – all the emotion – and eek out as much creativity as you can. Sing, dance, play, write, make stuff, cook, all of it. Pour it out, get it out. Definitely don’t swallow it. This emotion – good, bad, ugly – it’s all a gift. It really is. It reminds us that we’re still alive. Very, very alive.

Otherwise for me, life is generally good. If you are like me – there are good days and there are bad days. I wish I could be one of those highlight reels that manufactures that everything is always okay, but it’s real life over here people. I hope you all are excited that it is Friday. That is, if you are reading this on Friday. And if not, having a great day whenever you are reading it. I’ll be back next Friday. It’s going to be a big day in the McShane house, and there should be good vibes. But I’ll tell you about that then.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s version of Makin’ Somethin’ From Nuthin’. Cheers to all of you!

LLM

Link to the podcast version:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1594894/8037876