Have I forgotten how to write? Has my imagination shut down? Have I stopped thinking about how writing about the world of souls can be magical? How illuminating a literary stadium filled with life’s most complex thoughts provides an array of alternative spiritual options?
Somehow my feelings on continuing my mystical adventure have become stalled. I find myself consumed with everyday mind-numbing tasks and an exhausting list of chores. Regrettably, this troubling state has started to influence the direction of my maverick spiritual travels. Most importantly, this includes writing the conclusion of “Afterlife and The Octopus Analogy.”
Is it possible that I am reading all this wrong? What if this creative blockage is the result of endlessly asking questions and thinking that therein rests all of life’s answers?
During my Catholic schooling, I remember reading specific clerical teachings about child–like faiths. They were simple stories that encouraged humility and wonder. Every paragraph cheered the soul’s ability to ask life’s most basic questions without any future need for definitive answers or applause.
Now, as I sit at my favorite coffee shop, I am thoughtful about my personal writing logjam. My ultimate conclusion is that I am missing the point. Looking back, maintaining a position of childlike curiosity has always been my most valued teacher.
Luckily, children are seldom hampered by thought blockage. They continuously are astonished by the world. They explore without truly becoming hassled. Their simple questions – why is the sky blue or why do birds fly – are often tireless yet never discourage their quest for answers. Their curious spirits keep them open to every new possibility. They become grounded in their playful moments.
I am searching for the answer to one question: Is it possible for me to find that method of thinking once again? If successful, then renewing any form of inspiration invites me to breathe, to dream, and to be fully present to the wonderment of a past childlike mind. In many ways, it can become a spiritual practice all on its own.
Recalling candid, uncomplicated moments from my youth can be powerful. They have the potential to access uncommon solutions to many of life’s problems. This, I believe, may be the answer to unlocking my writing impasse.
Bud Megargee is a former senior behavioral healthcare executive; a Washington, DC., healthcare lobbyist; and an independently published, best-selling and award-winning author. He began writing after exploring Eastern philosophy and alternative medicine techniques in the professional treatment of emotional challenges at a Taiwanese Buddhist monastery.