Introspection in August

I was thinking about writer's block today. You may have noticed that I haven't complained or commented about it in quite a while. Basically, I think I am over my extended period of writers block in general. I have returned to my old levels of productivity both here and professionally. Once again I write with a certain ease, with a certain flow, that feels comfortable and natural.

But I was thinking today that I haven't really had any extended periods of creative writing. Oh, bits and pieces fall out here and there, but I really haven't sat and written anything of length or complexity in a while. In the aftermath of my surgery almost two years ago now I went into a very reflective place. I am still more inclined to observe, to simply observe, then I am to write about those observations, or to pass through through that alchemical process that results in fiction or poetry.

I had a bit of insight today on that subject that I thought I would share here. Part of this reflective process has been a good deal of introspection. But it hasn't been structured or disciplined introspection. T.R. has this habit - periodically she will take a day and simply sit and do a self-assessment. An open eyed period of gazing at herself to try and understand the person she is, the person she has become. I don't do that. I don't take that length of time. My periods of introspection seem to be short in duration and incidental in occurrence.

It is as if I am moving down a path of introspection while, at some level, resisting the movement down that path. If introspection were a pool, I am compelled to slip into the waters of the pool, I am compelled to dive deeply into them, but then, when I find myself there, I turn and swim to the surface. As I pass through the month of August, where I am making those decisions to slow the month down, one of the things that I am going to try is to take some windows of time to simply, deeply, focus on the introspective journey. I'll let you know how it turns out.