Lazy

When last we left Betsy and her blog, she was musing about word “can’t”. But what has she done with those thoughts? Is she moving forward? And if she is, why is she lounging on a grassy meadow beside a large, placid lake in her mind? And why are the others helping her on her Quest to become a better writer, and a better person, lounging with her? Why is Harry, the white gerbil who is the Guide for Betsy’s Quest, staring vacantly off into space?  Why is Clara, the resident dust bunny, powdering her nose and draping cobwebs on flowers?  Why is Skipper, the chipmunk who is the best Habit Implementation Specialist on the Muse Council, sitting still for the first time ever?  Why is the Blogosphere, Betsy’s portion of the blogging universe, silent? And why is Coffee, the beverage of champions, looking practically decaffeinated?

What’s going on? And where is the Muse?

Let’s see…

 

I don’t know what to write for my blog. *Betsy lays back on the grass beside the lake in her mind* *Bees buzz over flowers* *A cool breeze blows*

Then don’t write anything. Here have a sip. *Coffee pours himself into a mug* Oh, wait. *He shivers* There. Iced. *Hands mug to Betsy.

Thanks. *Betsy sits up and takes mug* *sips* That’s pretty good, but I still feel like I should write something for the blog.

You could clean instead. *Clara the dust bunny sneezes and pulls another cobweb out of her fur* I’m thinking you need to vacuum more than once a month.

Maybe. But I spent most of the holiday weekend cleaning and crap. I should be writing.

You could work on a tiny task *Skipper takes mug from Betsy and sips* Oh, delish! You outdid yourself this time, creampuff.

*Coffee steams*

I could, but I’m just not feeling motivated. *Betsy lays back down on the grass* *Looks up at the sky* I don’t feel like working. I guess I don’t feel like doing anything. Except maybe watching Netflix.

I got you, doll. I don’t feel like Guiding you either. *Harry lays back on the grass beside her* It’s nice here. We should just stay for a while.

Yeah. *Betsy closes her eyes* It’s not like I’m getting anywhere anyway. I mean, yeah, I have some stuff out, but it’s just taking so long. It’s hard to keep writing, especially when you don’t feel like it.

It’s hard to keep steaming. *Coffee lays down beside Betsy* *Sloshes a little*

It’s hard to keep Guiding. *Harry curls his (shorter) tail over his nether regions*

It’s hard to keep cleaning. *Clara lays down beside Harry* *Sneezes*

It’s hard to keep jumping. *Skipper lays down beside Coffee*

It’s hard to keep blogging. *Blogosphere lays down beside Skipper* *Pauses to hurl a insult at a comic book movie* *Closes all it’s eyes.

You all are pathetic.

What? *Betsy props herself up on her elbows* *Blinks* Muse? Is that you?

Yes. *Muse is standing looking down on all of them, frowning* *She crosses her arms* Since when does it matter how you feel? You keep doing even when you don’t feel like it. If you wait until you feel like it, you’ll never do anything.

*Betsy frowns* Are you talking about writing the blog?

*Muse shrugs* The blog. The book. Life. Everything.

*Betsy frowns again* How can I write if I don’t feel like writing?

*Coffee frowns* How can I percolate if I don’t feel like steaming?

*Harry frowns* How can I Guide if I don’t feel like Guiding?

*Clara frowns* How can I clean if I don’t feel like organizing?

*Skipper frowns* How can I jump if I don’t feel like moving?

*Blogosphere frowns* How can I troll and make rude comments if I don’t feel like being mean?

*Muse frowns back at everyone* You just do it. *She points at Blogosphere* Except you. Don’t troll or be mean.

*Blogosphere sighs* Then what is the point of my existence?

I don’t know. *Muse glares at them all in turn* Look. You all knew what you signed up for when we started this gig.

I’m not sure I did. “Betsy’s frown turns into a glare* Netflix didn’t exist then.

Whatever. *Muse waves that away* You worked for years and never had anything published. Never even had anyone like the stuff you were writing. But you kept going. You didn’t stop.

I stopped sometimes.

Which is why it took so long to finish anything. But just because you’ve actually finished something now doesn’t mean that you can stop. It’s like losing ten pounds when you need to lose twenty. You have some success, but you can’t sit back and think it’s over because you’re not where you need to be yet.

*Betsy frowns, thoughtfully this time* So you’re saying that getting a little bit of the way to your goal is dangerous because then you get lazy?

*Muse points at her* Exactly. You can’t move forward only when you feel like it. You have to keep going no matter how you feel.

*Betsy gets to her feet* So, start writing and let the feelings take care of themselves?

*Coffee gets to its feet* Start steaming?

*Harry gets to his feet* Start guiding?

*Clara gets to her feet* Start organizing?

*Skipper gets to her feet* Start moving?

*Blogosphere lays back on the ground* I don’t care.

*Muse shrugs* Whatever. But for the rest of you, yes. Start, even if you think you have some breathing room. Don’t fool yourself.

*Betsy frowns* But I still don’t know what to write for my blog post.

*Harry pats her ankle* What if you write about this?

*Betsy blinks* Hey, that’s a good idea!

And so she did just that.

 

To be continued…