Absence

Periodically, I need everybody to shut up and leave me alone.

Don't get me wrong. I do like the people in my life. They are very dear to me. But I'm introverted; I relax, calm down, and process stress through solitude.

I like to help people and I am happy that people come to me with their problems. But sometimes I have my own problems that I'm dealing with. And when everybody I know is having a bad day at the same time that I'm having a bad day, I need everybody to shut up and leave me alone.

This is a delicate endeavor, though. When you push people away, you run the risk that they don't come back (which is magnified when either party is in a stressed state). And if you push away somebody you like, you may find that it is even worse to be without them than it is to deal with them being overbearing.

I treat writing the same way that I treat people. Writing is a daily activity to me; it gets regular attention. However, some days i really just don't want to do it. On those days, I go to bed and don't even write a post. But I never want writing to be gone forever. That is why I always return and make up for the loss.

That is also why, on the days that I am so upset with writing that I contemplate ending this blog, I take extra special effort to write a post. I know that if I entertain that thought and push away writing, there is a chance it won't come back (or that it will take way longer than I want to wait for it to return).

If you love to write, then write. If you need to take a day or two off just for a break, that's ok. But if you're in a bad mood and you're overwhelmed, don't let those stresses make you choose a bad decision.