August Blahs, A Return to Journaling, Training Re-Set

I’ve been a bit scant on posting this month because I’ve been a bit scant on everything—inspiration, creativity, energy, and pep. August feels like it has dragged on interminably, and I haven’t been able to get forward momentum on anything. The heat, smoke and terrible Seattle air quality hasn’t helped with my general sense of stagnation and ennui. I’m left to just sit and wait out whatever this is, while I hope for a return to crisp, cool air and a good week of cleansing rain. In the meantime, I haven’t had a lot to say, and I haven’t had the to drive to fight through it and muster up a post anyway.

Despite my listlessness, I have managed to make one decision this month, which is to return to journaling. I used to journal daily, and I can’t pinpoint the exact time that practice fell away for me, but I haven’t journaled in many years, and it feels like it’s time to start again. Journaling always brought me clarity, and I am feeling a need for clarity on many things right now. The act of sitting and writing with pen and paper, physically moving your hands over the page and connecting your thoughts to the movement, imbues a sort of magic. It brings calmness and calls forth truth and orderliness of the mind, which is something I long for right now. And of course, returning to journaling means buying a plethora of fancy new journals, which I am definitely not addicted to and don’t have a hoarding problem with at all.

Part and parcel of my August blahs has been a growing sense of boredom with my weight lifting and workout routine. My latest trainer moved away, so I’ve been trainer-less for a few months, and while I’ve been going regularly, I feel goal-less and untethered. I need a good shake-up, new goals, something hard to work towards. I don’t have anyone to work out with, and it gets hard to go to the gym solo day after day and keep going through the same motions with little inspiration or sense of what my fitness goals are. Fortunately, the gym finally connected me to a new trainer, who I will meet with for a consultation this week. From his bio and photo they hung on the wall, he appears to be a somewhat older gent, (meaning, not in his late teens or early 20’s like the last string of trainers I’ve had), he has a high-level PT certification, and he works as a physical therapy assistant, so he is likely to be knowledgeable about injury treatment and such. I’ve adored all of my past trainers for each of their little quirks and the unique things they’ve taught me, and they can’t help their age, but—it will be a relief to interact with a more mature, seasoned person who is in tune with the needs of older folks.

So, here’s hoping that cleansing rain comes soon, my emotional fog dissolves into the sharp light of clarity, and my new trainer can help me find fresh inspiration. I’ll keep you posted.

--Kristen McHenry