Have you ever been in a situation where you can’t seem to do things right? It’s one of those days when your mind is devoid of constructive thoughts, sitting in a chair, staring at nothing. I’m now in that circumstance; an empty, purposeless state of mind.
An idea pops up and I try to copy it on paper only to stop in mid sentence, realizing I don’t have enough materials to finish even a paragraph. I squeezed and grind my brain yet nothing comes out. Not even a single drop of inspiration. It’s like continually pushing an elevator button, hoping it will come down quicker than it should. It doesn’t work that way.
What I need now is a child’s instinct. The gift of recognizing his mother from a group of “covered” women, when no hint of identifiable mark could be seen at all. What I need now is a Bedouin’s skill. The ability to chart an empty desert quarter, finding his way without using navigational instrument, relying only on lessons his forebears taught, passed to him by word of mouth. These are the talents I’m seeking now; the gift of recognizing a good story and the skill of guiding readers in understanding the narrative.
I’m not a good writer. I don’t even consider myself as one. I lack Sassy Lawyer’s ability to weave interesting stories wrapped around mundane topics such as meatloaf. Blogging photos of places I visited are out of question. There is no scenic place I can consider worthy of posting. I live in a city where, except for two or three outstanding landmarks, everything is the same or bland. Conformity is the word, adhering to tradition is the norm. They’ll look at you funny if you’re unconventional.
Maybe I’m still on vacation mode. The effect of five days of holiday after Ramadan is still in me. Laziness clings on my back like a crazed monkey, digging its finger nails on my shoulders, refusing to let go.
Enough of this, I’m getting tired of thinking about nothing. I may as well sleep this over tonight. Maybe tomorrow something will hit me; something interesting might occur that I can blog about.
you're no writer? how come you were able to write an eloquently sincere post from your thoughts on nothing? ah, humble you.
ReplyDeleteganun din minsan ang naiisip ko,at kanina ko pa iniisip kung ano rin ang pwede kong maisulat,ano ang magandang intro o pasimula,sa kakaisip ko wala na talaga akong maisip,ni hindi ko alam ang mga sususnod kong gagawin.gaya mo tumatakbo rin sakin ang tanong at pakiramdam ng ganyan...pero wala akong masagot at wala rin akong maisip,wala parin ako maisulat...
ReplyDeletepero teka...di ba pwede rin isulat ang wala kang maisulat at wala kang maisip..pwede rin pala,gaya ng ginagawa natin ngayon,walang maisip maisulat,pero mahaba na ang nasusulat at mahaba narin ang naitatanong...pwede palang maisulat ang walang maisulat..bukas din palagay ko yun ang sisimulan kong tanong..ano ang isusulat ko...(malamang ang sagot marami,kasi wala akong maisip.)
pards, sa pagsusulat mong ito...lalo lang akong bumibilib sayo!
ReplyDeleteang lalim at natututo ako!
wow, and you say you had nothing to write, very humbkling!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the things I do not like about having a vacation. The momentum is disrupted and I fall into a useless garbage especially right after an all night painting red of the whole town. But we do need this respite from work.
ReplyDeletethis post should be called "something out of nothing" :)
ReplyDeletehahaha... magaling ka nga magsulat. maybe you can post about something that you really really love doing.
ReplyDeleter-yo, I have no formal training in prose writing. The nearest thing I got was "technical writing" in english 101.
ReplyDeleteever, salamat at nabahagian kita at may napulot ka kahit kaunting WALA! : )
sheng, thank you.
Ka Rolly, ang hirap talagang magtrabaho kung kagagaling lang sa bakasyon.
sleeplessinkl, that's a good title. Why haven't I thought of that?
donG, salamat.
sa WALA rin pala pwede magsimula at matuto..ha ha ha.
ReplyDeleteWe all go through the phase of having writer's block. =)
ReplyDeleteMs.Jo, writer's block is for artists. For people like me, I think its called "katamaran". ; )
ReplyDeletehi kuya. sana maka-get over ka na sa state na meron ka ngayon. ingat lagi.
ReplyDeleteeds, thanks for the concern at salamat sa dalaw.
ReplyDeletethinking about nothing is actually one form of relaxation. maybe, your mind is still on vacation. whenever my brain goes blank, i write something about anything. :D
ReplyDeleteMari, sana our brains have an "on" and "off" switch. It's frustrating sometimes when you want to write and nothing is coming out.
ReplyDeleteendless ang materials diyan, naghihintay kami ng bago everyweek he he he...
ReplyDeleteWe all go through such phases. In fact, I'm going through one right now. I have a couple of drafts but for some reason, I'm having problems bringing them to a conclusion. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI hope your writer's block fades away soon. Take care. :)
ed v., "Water, water every where. But not a drop to drink."
ReplyDeletepanaderos, you too? Nakaka frustrate di ba? Thank you for your concern pards.