Tunnel to nowhere-
hidden among rocky slopes.
“Somewhere” abandoned.
Our ongoing (but slowly progressing) household projects have prevented me from hiking or finding inspiration in my surroundings. Seriously, all I can see are trenches of rocks and partial fences… I’ll do an update next week!
A couple months ago, the scouts went on a hike to an out-of-the-way destination so the boys could see a tunnel to nowhere. I was intrigued by the story. Apparently, it was going to be a railroad tunnel, but about thirty feet in, the plan was scrapped. Now, it’s basically a cave… a damp, musty one with a great deal of graffiti on the walls.
This got me thinking about what separates finished projects from ‘nowhere’ tunnels. It could be a matter of drive, planning, or the result of unforeseen factors that impede progress. I keep this in mind as days go by with no progress on trenches or fencing. As long as we do a little each day, we are getting somewhere.
I’m curious – how do you extract inspiration that has been buried under the rubble of “life”?
JannaTWrites 
That depends on whether my priorities have shifted. If they have, I move on without worrying about the unfinished projects left in my wake. If not, I take another step in the direction of my choosing.
Either way, I remind myself that self-created suffering is rooted in the frantic desire to attain something other than what we already have . . .
But nothing lasts.
So what’s the rush?
Instead of striving to reach some distant shore, I aim to become fully engaged HERE and NOW. Enjoying the journey as each moment unfolds into the next.
Sometimes I can let it go (I had an unfinished needle point project in my drawer for six years before I finally made it go away for good.) Glad you are able to enjoy the now, Nancy. Sometimes things work out where that is possible, sometimes not 🙂
A life experience is an EXCELLENT source for inspiration regardless of the genre one writes in. Your Haiku this time is very thought provoking for me. I enjoyed reading it.
I enjoy reading your Haiku as it helps in my own creativity. It’s reached a point where I can’t help but respond with my own Haiku on the same topic each time I read one of yours.
So here’s my Haiku endeavor for a “Tunnel to Nowhere !!!”
Enter dark tunnel
Walking a very long time
Exit the same place
I’m glad you enjoyed the haiku, Robin! (I look forward to the weekly haiku banter, so carry on with the responses… carry on!)
Your last line got me thinking. On the surface, it would seem that ending up in the same place means we went nowhere at all. That thought doesn’t take into account the journey. No doubt we have been changed in some way during the time we ventured out to the time we returned to that same point.
Whoa. I’m getting a little deep here… might end up with another headache!
Janna, the journey is there. It’s left up to the reader to decide what might have taken place. I believe you’ve experience what I’ve written about. Have you ever decided to undertake a project and no matter what you did at the end of the day nothing had gotten accomplished.
At times I do have the tendency to write something deep when in fact I hadn’t written anything at all, just like I’ve done here. The weekend is almost here, have a GREAT ONE with your family.
Oh yes, I’ve been there… sometimes I even seem to take steps backwards on my projects! I hope you have a great weekend as well, Robin 🙂
As long as we do a little each day…. Oh I wish I could feel this way. Currently working through a week’s worth if emails and feel as if I’m getting nowhere.
I’ve been there on the email backups before (actually I kind of stay there permanently, as I’m never completely caught up!) Sometimes when we are away, we have to pick and choose what to read and let the rest go. Good luck catching up, Sarah Ann!
Interesting tunnel to nowhere. One has to wonder whether the railroad execs ran out of money. Or time. Or desire!
Writing is like that, you know. Sometimes we start on a project, get several thousand words in, then abruptly turn away. Perhaps we realized the “great idea” wasn’t so great after all. Perhaps we just got side-tracked by something more interesting (in which case, we can always return to it).
Hang in there, Janna. And try to focus on the feeling a completed project will bring!
I don’t know the reason, Debbie. Maybe they decided that getting a train up such a steep hill might not be the best route. Or maybe the rock wasn’t sturdy enough and the tunnel would’ve caved in.
I know what you mean about the writing. I have a graveyard of unfinished writing. (Some are zombies though… they keep coming back over and over again!) My issue right now is that I really want to be writing more, but it has to wait… summer monsoons will be here all too soon and if we aren’t done, we’ll have a huge muddy clay mess 😦
Cool pic! I like the idea that as long as we do a little we are getting somewhere; now to just let that sink in so I can go with it.
I’m glad you liked the photo, Suzicate! Sometimes I think we’re too hard on ourselves and can’t accept the little bit as significant. We’re trained to expect big results, fast.
Lovely photo, Janna. 🙂
I am sure that stories are (quietly) forming in your mind even while you are busy seeing your projects through. You are being very productive both ways though the excitement of a finished project is cluttering all the passages for the stories to come through. 🙂
If the stories are forming, Imelda, they are forming so quietly that I don’t even know they are there 😛
It will be a relief to get our outdoor projects completed. Hubby found the parts we needed in CA, so we might finish the fence next week (yay!)
Lovely haiku and picture. In my mind as long as some progress is being made at some point you are getting somewhere. 🙂
Thanks, Kathy! I’ve been feeling under the weather, so I haven’t done outdoor projects since Saturday. Feeling up to it or not, I’ll do at least an hour tomorrow 🙂
When we stop, a project is ‘finished’ whether or not we or anyone else consider it ‘un’ finished. Of course, the ‘finished’ project says much about us – that’s what I reckon.
Peace,
Eric
Good way to look at it, Eric. (I can see this logic applying to the attire we choose to leave the house wearing as well… I’ve gone to the store in slippers, so I’m sure that says something… like maybe “I don’t care 🙂 )
Thank you for posting “Floating is Natural” here 🙂
Oh, I was confused for a second (not unusual!) I don’t remember to use my ‘like’ button often, so when I do, it means I REALLY, REALLY like it! Your writing is always great, but for some reason that one stuck with me 🙂
What a great image! I like the way that the abandoned somewhere inspired a great poem.
Thanks, Allen! It was a little bit difficult of a hike, but we had a good time!
P.S. I hope this wasn’t the feral poetry you wrote about, haha 🙂
Through pure grit and determination, Janna 😀
I don’t like leaving anything half finished. Hubby, on the other hand, has some kind of weird man-disease where he never ‘completely’ finishes something. I’ll say, ‘you only need to hammer in one more nail and it’s finished’ and he’s says, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ and it’s never done (very frustrating!) I don’t know if there is a psychiatric word for ‘fear of completion’ but if there is he’s got it 😉
Haha! The unfinished would be frustrating, Dianne. My husband is the opposite- we both ones to knock ourselves out to get things done because the unfinished creates stress of its own (more so when the projects are inside, it seems!)
I’d take a look under each piece of rubble, and see what squiggles out.
Ah, searching for survivors… I like that, Widdershins! I’d like to think that in every experience, there might be some inspiration to be found.
Happy to be back here reading your beautiful Haiku:)
Thanks, Vishal! It’s kind of been a weekly thing as of late… who knows when my mind will shift gears and move on to something else, haha 🙂
Great analogy… It is hard to know if a project or goal will ever bear fruit or materialise. I personally get impatient with things that take a long time. I like things to come easy to me 🙂
One step at a time though hey? It will come together if it’s meant to.
I have a problem with patience, too, GodGirl… as in I have none 🙂 You’re right, we have to just take one step at a time. Our impatience won’t make things happen any faster!
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Versatile Blogger Award
Thanks so much for the nomination, Antibioticsandambulances! I appreciate that you read my blog and thought to include me in the list 🙂
I like this. Inspiration can come from anywhere. With an unfinished cave, it could remind us that we have projects to finish but we need to prioritize. Some will get left undone for some time while others are completed quickly. When I look at life and how finite it is, I realize that some projects need to die because they are not important while other items are. We are only on this earth for a fraction of time so enjoy what you do while you can because tomorrow is too far away.
Yes, we do have to be selective about projects, Sean. Housecleaning is one project I’ll gladly skip (or put on hold indefinitely) in favor of just about anything else. (Only half-kidding here… I do put if off, but eventually, the clutter gets to me!) Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Sean.
I agree with the housecleaning. I look at housecleaning in a different way. Yes, the house needs to be kept clean but with kids, it will not be spotless. There will always be clutter and that is ok. I also feel that kids should be part of the cleaning process but that should not be the only thing that they seem to do. A cluttered house usually reflects more time being spent with the family. that’s my 2 cents, oh wait, forgot the government part so my .5 Cents worth. thanks
Yeah, spotless is a distant dream, haha! Our kids do have chores around the house- more when they think they can get away with half-doing them 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to share your half cent (taxes are a killer…)
Very apt picture and words! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Dilipnaidu 🙂
I love the analogy here. I have found that sometimes inspiration has to wait under the rubble a while longer while I gather up my courage and the supplies (emotional and otherwise) needed to extract it. That’s the story I’m using to keep my hope up.
That reasoning sounds good to me, Deborah! Sometimes we can have good ideas at the wrong time, no reason we can’t save them for later (as long as we remember them, haha.)
If I think about something long enough, I’m probably able to extract something out of it. But it must be something worth saving from the rubble. There are plenty of things I’ve abandoned–many a knitting projects–that I’m not proud of, but I think it’s not worth the time or effort to complete something if I know I will like love the end result. Inspiration is a funny thing: sometimes it comes when least expected. 🙂
I have some abandoned projects as well. I don’t like to be a ‘quitter’ but sometimes there just isn’t a benefit to finishing it if we don’t derive enjoyment from it. I agree that inspiration tends to come when we aren’t looking for it.
A short break from writing can refresh the writer inside. You may feel uninspired, but once you’ve had a rest, you’ll come back strong.
Sometimes a break does the trick, Patti. I can’t seem to stay away too long, though 🙂
No, not too long, but it really helps me.