Why, oh why, am I always rushing with my responses to the weekly writing prompts I enjoy?

Why?  Because I need a break from everything life keeps dumping on my plate.

And that brings me right to the perfect prompt…Write about something you need a break from.

Wow!  Just something?  Only one thing?  Where do I start?

The best answer to my own question is boringly and very obviously…at the beginning.  Allow me to start with the everyday warfare that surrounds all the current political theatrics and how the fallout from the constant, mostly derisive, debates we’re witnessing have affected everyone.  No one seems to be able to move the hell past the drama put out by the media without engaging in some type of personal diatribe, either on social media or in everyday conversations.  People stand rigidly behind their opinions and chosen political party but I can’t really fault them for supporting who and what they believe in…it’s their constitutional right, and obligation.  Certainly, I don’t always agree but refuse to demonize anyone, at least in a public platform.  My opinions are most kept to myself but my lip looks like the aftermath of a prize fight because I bite it so much in an attempt to avoid constant arguments.

And, while I’m on my “need a break” soapbox, let me throw out family, work and other matters of my life at present.  Probably as volatile a situation as politics, all combined,  and we can all identify with those nagging thoughts that rattle your brain in the middle of the night, bringing up all of life’s, sometimes unpleasant, scenarios and the questions involved. 

• Why are friends and family close one moment and in the background of your life the next?  For me personally, the absolute joy and magic of a family reunion a few years ago now seems nothing more than a distant memory. 
• Why does the necessary evil of having to work become totally consuming yet you have no choice but to keep plugging-along, fearing not being able to work at all? 
• Why does the enjoyment of participating in an organization slowly suck the life out people when the fundamental goal is to be an instrumental part of productive change and growth and leave positive footprints for those who will follow?  Trust me, I’m a total realist, fully aware that, within every group, personal agendas are tucked-away in individual notebooks.  Hey, that’s part of the game and, in itself, can be instrumental when people work together towards a common goal.  I know, I know…so much easier said..than done!

In short, I need a break from all of the above, but not an escape.  I need answers to those nagging thoughts, even a solution or two.  I need more to compartmentalize each issue and pull up my mental files, one at a time, rather than allowing all of them to hit me at once, like a session in Congress.

And so it goes…

 

From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Something I need a break from.