Has this ever happened to you?

You’re flying on the freeway at a pretty good pace. You’re making great time to get to your audition, meeting or whatever you’re going to. Life is good and traffic is moving at the same pace of productivity you are. Everything is looking up, then….

…in four lanes of staggered yet open traffic, you come right up to a Prius. In the fast lane. The lane you’re in and make great progress with, BTW.

But now, you’re behind an economical and sensible machine, driven by a carbon footprint considerate person, and the minutes you were saving are suddenly being lost with every mile per hour your speedometer is slowing.

You could go around, but the traffic that was behind you is catching up and moving past you and the Prius, blissfully blasting their upbeat Spotify driving playlist.

You’re stuck. Behind a Prius. Progress is being lost and there is nothing you could do about it. You and the Prius are in the fast lane, saving the planet but losing your sanity.

That’s me with my writing.

There are times I sit down to write and things are going great. I’m moving along. Words are being typed on my keyboard and the little vertical cursor doesn’t have time to blink, because I am typing and flowing like Charlie Parker in an early A.M. jam session with Art Blakey. Bebop in words.

Then, I get stuck. It’s not Writer’s Block. Because that’s not really a ‘thing’. Lots of Writers have talked about it. So, what is it?

It’s a Slow Down. And that’s okay.

It’s okay to write at a great pace and fever through a bunch of words and type like you’re on some kind of word purge while not worrying about punctuation and not stopping even to go to the bathroom or eat or sleep…. phew! (Breath)

It’s also okay, to slow down and be stuck behind a Prius. Because even though you’re slowing down, even though you’re being passed by others and you’re not buying ink by the barrel, you’re still going. Because the thing is, even though you’re slowing down, you haven’t stopped. As long as you’re still moving, you’re in great shape. Enjoy the drive. There will be times when you can pick up the pace. There will be times when that pace is more economical. Enjoy the journey. Each mile, each word.