Stuck in a rut.

Stuck in a rut.

What does that phrase even mean?

Here’s my take on it.

Figuratively it refers to the habit of feeling like your life is flooded with the mundane while lacking in anything constructive at all – and it’s absolutely ridiculous how difficult it can be to get out of that mindset.

Here I am.

Stuck in a rut.

It’s about to get real.

//

A girl sits down at her laptop, her hands racing across the keys in any effort to spout off a captivating story for the world to read. She falls short. The routine she’s trapped herself in inhibits the vision she once had and her words fall flat. She finds herself stuck, staring at a blank glowing screen as minutes continue to pass her by.

How did she get stuck in the first place? How did she convince herself that the life she leads is dull? How is it that after collecting all the things her day consists of she calls it a wash?

It’s simple.

Behind these words is a girl who is guilty of claiming a lie - the lie that her life is boring. Day in and day out she comes to the conclusion that she has made little progress, especially when it comes to the grand scheme of things. She has let herself slip into the mindset that being stuck is just where she’s at in life, not much can change that fact. She’s not where she intended to be. Her life isn’t exciting and adventurous and worthy of writing about. Or so she thinks…

//

We strive to bring vibrancy to our lives, but being stuck in a rut gives you a palette with only one color. Gray.

Gray is dismal. It’s a color that lacks…well, everything. It isn’t bold by any means. The color itself is static; there is little depth to its hue. The rut that we find ourselves in is smothered in gray. It covers up our daily routine and leaves a gloomy finish on the monotonous tasks we find ourselves stuck in once again. It keeps us from expressing our thoughts in any other tone than the lackluster gray we’ve tethered ourselves to.

In the midst of the gray, our mission is to pursue the colors just beyond our reach. Discover deep blues. Grasp for fiery reds. Break free of the bland paint you’ve been brushing over your everyday happenings. Breathe life back into your daily routine – choose colors that brighten your mood and lift you up! Slather shades of crimson and violet across the ashen backdrop before you. Let accents of emerald and gold fill the plain background you’ve come to identify yourself with and bring back the vibrancy that once was there.

//

The other night I spent time with a dear friend of mine and shared what I thought were boring stories of my life since we last caught up. We chatted for hours, sharing pieces of our lives back and forth. While one of us spoke the other intently listened and cut in from time to time with “I know how that is…” and “Yeah, that’s the same for me…” and “Now that you mention it…” phrases, which served as wonderful additions to the conversation – we never considered them as interruptions.

At the end of the night as we were shivering out in the cold next to our cars, I said something along the lines of, “Thanks for listening to my boring life.” And her response was, “Your life is never boring to me.” And you know what, it got me thinking.

Our lives are not boring to someone who is willing to listen. The stories that we share are worth telling, even if they do seem a bit gray. What we may think of as uninteresting could be fascinating to the friend across the table from you.

Whether you’re in my shoes or in the pair of shoes across the table, be sure to listen in. The boring parts of your life may just be the spark to new conversations. Your dull morning may be a scene that someone else can identify with. The things you mumble on about could lead to encouragement and inspiration in the end.

Here’s to a new year! Wherever we’re at in life, may we always be reminded to share about the good, the bad, and the boring.