Kimberly L. Wright

Burnout became the theme I was sucked into this past week, but at least it ended on a positive note.

Note the burnout was something internal but could be partially due to events only partially related to my day-to-day drudgery. But the feeling festered, and I felt worthless and wounded.

I should move slower in some areas and move through these knots. Do more quality control, because reflexively, I derive my self-worth from the work I produce, and when it’s not up to my standards, I can take it really hard. And a persistent sinus-allergy headache didn’t help.

I need to make it a point to see different sights and walk the wonderful local trails more. We’ve had a streak of mild weather that’s unfortunately giving way to more brutal climate change era summer. I knew summer wasn’t yet finished with us.

I have grown to despise summer despite how much I loved it as a kid for giving me a break from the dull slog of school. But at least I can escape from the heat into air conditioning. So many cannot. More than 1,000 people a year die from extreme heat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And all it takes is a massive power outage during summer – a la Texas and Puerto Rico – to bring the danger home to the rest of us who are normally housed and comfortable.

As far as my personal projects, one project I tried to help with will be coming to fruition in a couple of weeks — my first clumsy attempt to write a radio show, which brought home to me, along with other screwups, my need to rededicate myself to quality control. My contributions on two shows will be on the radio in syndication on “Melodically Challenged,” available at Album 88, among other places.

I also have started going to more local writing critique groups to get different perspectives in addition to my usual remote group. One small group meets at the Book Exchange in Marietta, another is at the Woodstock library just north of downtown, and there’s a fledgling poetry and songwriters’ group in Canton at Local Color Studio. The Atlanta Writers Club also has a large list of groups of various genres.

Another group I have encountered off and on, the Georgia Poetry Society, has open mike readings every month on Zoom. They are announced on social media.

The East Cobb library also has a critique group that has ballooned. However, it’s geared strongly toward prose. At least it was last time I went about a year or so ago.

If you are struggling like I have been this week, hang in there! It’s hard to know, sometimes, whether to plow through or pause. Sometimes taking a nap helps, a walk in the park, but often a change of perspective can help one reevaluate one’s place in the world. Pick up a book from a different genre and see if it’s something worthwhile. Try a new, not-too-complex recipe.

Oh boy, self-help tips! Is this LinkedIn? I’ll try to make my next blog post less mundane stream-of-consciousness and may be adding some audio in the coming weeks.