This concludes day four of my bout with the flu.  What I was hoping on Monday was just some allergy symptoms (which I have never had) quickly became a pretty bad sick, and I’ve been in bed for most of the week.   Much of the time has been seemingly pointless; me lying in bed shivering while outside, record high temperatures are being recorded.  But yesterday I started to sit up and even tried to shuffle around the house a little bit.  I watched a Netflix movie that we’ve had for about a year, which we now own but will never watch again, and I combed through the small bookcase of the few titles we’ve collected since loosing all of our books in the mold incident.

I was looking for a completely different title when I came across “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield.  I recognized the title as the one that my friends Carl and Lloyd had been telling me I need to read.  I have no idea how it got into my cabinet, but I figured there must be something to it so I pulled it out.  Plus, right there on the front cover Esquire Magazine calls it “A Vital Gem…a kick in the ass.” I figured a good ass kicking might be therapeutic at this point so I gave it a few test pages.

Pressfield doesn’t waste words.  The chapters of this book average out to less than one full page apiece, but they are packed with substance.  (Like those little healthy bars from Whole Foods that Jennifer gives the kids when we can’t get right to a meal or if the only option is fast food.)  On page 5 of “The War of Art” something called “The Resistance” is introduced, and the better part of the book is a travel manual for how we battle, break, and eventually surmount the Resistance.   This Resistance has a goal and that is to keep us from doing what we were put here on earth to do.  Resistance is the surface-to-air missile intended to blow up inspiration before it gets much off the ground.  It’s real and it comes in many forms.  Pressfield tell us how it can thwart the creative process and then gives plenty of examples.  Then I read something about how the “Professional” pushes through the Resistance, even if it comes in the form on the flu, so I figured I probably should come back here to my office and write – just incase something came out like it should, or at least I could go to bed feeling good about giving it a shot.

Either way, a lot of things are beginning to get fuzzy.  It’s after ten now and the 10mg of Ambien that I took before I sat down here is kicking in and I’m seeing several keyboards and at least two computer screens.  Time to go to bed.  I’ll let you know how the book turns out.

Inspired, kind-a,

Jerm
www.ffh.net