The comedian George Carlin had an old routine that always cracked me up. It was about “stuff” and how we all had too much “stuff” and everywhere we went our “stuff” followed us around. By the time he started talking about the portable containers someone invented so we could take our “stuff” with us on vacation, I was rolling on the floor.
I’ve been dealing with a lot of “stuff” lately - the tangible sort that comes with cleaning out houses and moving from one place to the next.
But also the sort that collects in the corners of your life, the white elephants of living we try to ignore in hopes that they’ll disappear.
When I’m bombarded with “stuff,” my creative side suffers. That has definitely been the case this past month or two. Both of my parents are ill, I sold a home that I loved - sad stuff, really - and so I’ve not been writing very much. I stopped doing morning pages too, because it was too hard to write anything about the stuff that was bothering me.
Intellectually, I know that writing can help people work their way through difficult times. But sometimes it can be beneficial to retreat from the things you do most often and just be quiet for a while, take some figurative deep breaths and regroup.
That’s where I am right now, working my way back to the words, putting all the stuff back in it’s proper place as I go.
And whatever stuff you’re dealing with today, a good laugh always helps. Here’s George Carlin to give you one.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac]