It happens. Wednesday morning brushing your teeth, you realize you no longer recognize the face reflected in your bathroom mirror. Questions break open floodgates. How did you get here? How is this your life? 2020 has disrupted, upended, and rendered any perception of “normal” as invalid. This often results in a hollow emptiness, a sense of surreal dissociation, and uncertainty about moving forward into the future. Depression threatens to consume whatever remains of a shattered soul. What should we do, and how do we fix this? 

Simple answers don’t exist. One size doesn’t fit everyone. We each possess deep wells of untapped capacity and unlimited creativity to devise brilliant solutions. Today’s challenges require us to reconcile actions with our core beliefs. It requires courage to examine the pile, choosing whether to keep or discard the attached baggage. It is a time-consuming, life-searching process.

The bottom line is managing distractions to clear space for creating meaningful work. Writers, artists, and other creatives walk a tightrope. Their goal is forging a path that allows them to use emotions in their work without becoming overwhelmed and shutting down from the enormous burden. The choices are unclear. Are readers looking for explanations, opinions, or clarity in our real world, or would they rather find an escape for a while?

Does your writing reflect the current events?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer