Lately, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to be creative. It feels like the weight of recent events, and the noise that follows them, has just zapped something out of me. Normally, writing, blogging, recording, or creating feels natural—like something I’m drawn to without even needing to think about it. But right now, I just don’t feel it.
It isn’t that I don’t want to create. In fact, I want to. I want to sit down and work on new pieces, sketch out ideas, draft essays, or even just jot down some smaller things to keep my creative momentum alive. But when I try, nothing comes. It’s like the part of me that usually sparks with imagination and drive is just… quiet.
I’ve noticed it spilling into all the corners of my creative life. My newsletter, which usually does have a consistent format, has been off track ever since the week of Charlie Kirk’s death. That week, and the one after, I couldn’t bring myself to keep it in its normal style. And honestly, I suspect this week will be the same. It feels strange, like even the routine structures I rely on are being disrupted by how drained I’ve felt.
The same thing has happened with my other creative outlets. My YouTube has been sitting without a new upload this week. And when it comes to my blogs, the only activity happening is either the automated news posts on my politics and mental health blogs, or the scheduled posts I had set up ahead of time. Beyond that, I haven’t really done anything fresh.
It’s frustrating, because creativity is such a big part of who I am. To sit here and feel like that part of me is dormant makes me restless. And yet, I also know forcing it never really works. Creativity can’t be pulled out of thin air when your mind feels heavy. It has to come naturally, and right now, my headspace isn’t making that easy.
Maybe this is just one of those phases. A season of quiet that I have to accept instead of fight. I might be in this for a while, and as much as I’d love to push through it with sheer willpower, I think it might be more about giving myself patience. Sometimes the most creative thing we can do is to allow ourselves the space to not create, to recharge, and to process everything that’s happening around us.
For now, I’m just letting myself be. The scheduled posts will carry my blogs forward for a bit, and when the spark comes back, I’ll be ready for it. But in this moment, I’m learning that part of being creative is also knowing when to rest.
