Emptiness Friday Five

Sally has given us an interesting Five on this first Friday of Lent:

I have been pondering this Friday Five over and over in my mind, but I am coming up with nothing, so I am wondering; what do you do when you feel empty of all creativity and unable to make/do anything? This is a completely open question, the only rule is name 5 things that fill/ inspire you:

1. 1.       Rest:  All too often when I am feeling empty it is because I am too tired to think.  Taking some time for me is very important.  If I was at the office, I might close the door and take a power nap, or go out for a cuppa.  Sometimes just getting outside will help
2. 2.      Get with people:  I am an extrovert and being around others energizes me.  The words of others spark words in me when I have writer’s block over sermons or articles I am writing.  I remember when I was studying I would often go to a local coffee shop by myself and work on papers because there were other people around.
3. 3.      Meditation:  When I am feeling especially empty it is time to get really quiet.  I try to place my emptiness before God and just sit there allowing God to do something with my emptiness.  It is funny about emptiness though; it is the hardest thing to place before the Holy One, so sitting with my hands open is very important.  I do not always find God filling my emptiness with Godly Presence at those times, but I do find that my hands are often ‘filled’ when I re-enter.  I allow myself at least an hour for this exercise and discipline myself not to get discouraged.  Often I find that there is some dissatisfaction in my relationship with the Divine that is blocking my creativity and I am convicted to make some changes so that my life with God is restored to its balance.

1. 4.      Go Fishing:  I used to go fishing when I would get really empty.  There is nothing like God’s creation and standing in the middle of a stream to fill me with God’s blessing.  Now I often write as trout streams are non-existent in Texas.  Or often I just get in the car and drive.  There is something about TX horizons that allow me to ‘breathe’.  The vast expanse of the country is comforting.
2. 5.      Listen to music:  Usually music lifts my soul and fills it.  If I can sing it is best.  But often just listening to things that remind me of who I am and what I am all about helps.  Because for many years I was a professional French horn player, music with lots of brass like Mahler, Janecek, Brahms, or wonderful lyrics.  Slipping a CD of the Messiah or the Brahms’ Requiem  into the car’s track and singing to my heart’s content where no one else can hear me as I drive out in the country is wondrous salve for my soul.  Just me and the cows and the jackrabbits.  And then I laugh and laugh.