Yeah, I know defunkify is not a word (hyphenated or otherwise). Is that a problem?
Full disclosure: this is my third attempt at writing this post. I am a little embarrassed. Usually when I can’t write at least I can write about not being able to write (the irony is not lost on me). But this funk seems to be reaching sizable proportions. However, I continue to attempt to deal with it, one way or another. These are my thoughts on how one might deal with such a thing.
In general, one has two options when dealing with a funk: surrender to it or fight it. One’s first impulse is often to fight it. As the poet said, Do not go gently into that good night! (Was it Dylan Thomas? Probably ought to look that up before I publish this.) Sometimes what you need to do is power on out of that funk. Just sit your butt down and write (or get off your butt and run, clean the house, whatever it is your funk is preventing you from doing)!
Surrendering sounds like a terrible option. One of my favorite movies Galaxy Quest taught me, “Never give up! Never surrender!” Well, let’s not call it surrender (a’ 70s song about “Sweet Surrender” just started playing in my head). Call it Relax Into It. Just sink down into the funk and give your brain a break. Take a deep breath and enjoy the view. Relax.
Sometimes when you do this, you emerge on the other side of the funk. Sometimes the funk is your brain and body’s way of telling you that you need a rest. And sometimes not. Sometimes the above mentioned power through it is the way to go.
As I wrote the preceding, it occurred to me that perhaps there is a third option of gently trying different things to ease your way out of the funk. I alluded to this method in yesterday’s post, when I felt marginally better after a nice walk with my husband and dog. A blogger I often read, Return of the Modern Philosopher wrote about a trip to the library which helped his funk considerably. He took a hard run the next day which also seemed to help.
Hmmm…. This may land me in the middle of some half-baked philosophy more suitable for Lame Post Friday. It seems to me a walk and a trip to the library are gentle ways to ease out of a funk while a hard run is more on the power your way out method. Then again, running is not writing, so really it would only be powering your way out if your funk was preventing you from running (my funks do that sometimes, too).
Now I have three things to look up before I publish this: the poet quoted earlier and the links to Return of the Modern Philosopher. The question is: is it easier to save this post AGAIN and do that, or to save this post (AGAIN) and write about the run I took this afternoon. Less writing to pause and look things up, but I hate to waste a good run. Hmmmm…..
OK, it was Dylan Thomas, and I put in the appropriate links. Now I wonder if the title is right… Oh hell, I’m hitting publish.
Mohawk Valley Girl 