The Nagging Little Voice started up on Saturday morning. “What’s wrong? You’re not paying attention.” Yes, Nagging Little Voice, you are correct. Nearly two weeks passed between blog posts and one week since our last gig.
After being chastised by the Nagging Little Voice, I wondered, “How did that happen? Where did the time go?”
A plethora of general kinds of excuses quickly came to mind. Sometimes, time just gets away from us. Sometimes, whatever else that goes on in our lives monopolizes our attention and takes all of our energy. Sometimes, we undertake to do too much, and that, in turn, leads to mediocrity or neglect. Sometimes, we burn up so much energy doing a task that little is left for other endeavors. Sometimes, it is the dreaded “losing interest.”
Another -- often quite true -- is that we just might not have anything worthwhile or creative to say. We used it up at the office. Or at the dinner table. Or at the Saturday morning “stitch and bitch” session with the Wiki Weekend Warriors. Or in light banter with the maitre’d at a restaurant.
The Nagging Little Voice was not about to let up. “Nice list! So what?” Better get to specifics to figure this out.
On the Sunday morning after Surf Night!, I drove to the Doghouse, unpacked the car, and headed off to SportClips for my triweekly haircut. Old age has not stopped the gray hair from growing. Little did I know that, when I locked the door to the Doghouse at 11:00 a.m., I was shutting down the rock ‘n roll fantasy for a week.
No practice. Two electric guitars stayed tucked away in their cases. No drum kit at the ready. The plan to set up the kit on Wednesday evening gave way to 9:00 p.m. at the office. No band practice. Called it off on Thursday afternoon in the face of another late evening at the office.
Aha! Did you read that, Nagging Little Voice? No high-minded excuse is required. No creative block exists. The fun of rock ‘n roll is not being abandoned. I was simply too busy to spend time on it. The real world day job took priority for both creativity and energy.
Hey, let’s look at the bright side. It was only for one week or so.
The Nagging Little Voice’s response showed that no win is possible, “Duly noted. When’s your next gig?” Touche.