What Haunts You?

“Nothing haunts us like the things we don’t say.” — Mitch Albom

I’ve talked about this before on the Write Now podcast, but one of the main reasons I write is to avoid being haunted by regret.

I have a compulsion to create, be it via podcasting, writing, bread-baking, etc. Maybe you’re the same way.

But if I’m ever in a place where I am not able (or willing) to create — say, if I’m busy working on my business, or mired in depression — then I slowly become a strange, hollow shell of myself, unknowingly searching for the meaning that I’m unconsciously avoiding.

It doesn’t happen all at once — my temper gets a little shorter, maybe I get a little more irritable or snap at my husband without understanding why. Without understanding that I’m upset with myself, that I’ve dammed up the natural creative river that needs to be constantly flowing.

But soon, it consumes me, this negativity, like a void erupting from the inside of my heart.

And sometimes, for whatever reason, I refuse to acknowledge that I need to be writing/creating/podcasting. I try to fill the void with Netflix or video games, all the while becoming more and more frustrated, unsettled, and haunted.

I don’t know why we often don’t do the things that we know are good for us. Maybe it’s some kind of self-sabotage, or a rebellious pushing against the limits.

But eventually, the dam must break, and the creativity must flow.

Words & warmth,

Sarah