I HAVE WRITER’S BLOCK and need to complete this new essay to pull me out of this most uncomfortable situation. Writing for me has been an adventure during this last decade and the story lines usually find their way, but today I find myself stuck.
My problem essay has me back in childhood recalling the many hours I spent fantasizing.
"I directed armies of Civil War tin soldiers in my bedroom, allowing each side to win their share of skirmishes. I remember positioning the soldiers for tactical battleground maneuvers in their blue and gray uniforms on my maple hardwood floor."
In my attempted narrative, I recall running into the "reality wall" in my teens when the news turned mostly to the conflict in Vietnam, the death of the Kennedy’s, and the Detroit race riots.
My “make-believe” world had been challenged and came to a screeching halt.
Perhaps, I am dealing with that teenage emotional transition and just needed this period for my synapses to percolate. It was a sad and sobering reality that I am still trying to understand.
Reflecting on my childhood, I had ten years of playful activities mixed with increasing responsibilities producing a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. I did not want to trade in my youthful exuberance to deal with these rather dreadful events. But through it all, I discovered that bad things happen in the universe and one must learn to deal with these circumstances. Embracing happiness is an active mental exercise that takes some serious practice - a far better direction to take than to dwell in darkness and despair.
Keeping that child in you alive is critical. It takes some effort just like moving through a writer’s block.