Life in the Doldrums

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

-from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by S. T. Coleridge

Ask any sailor who relies on wind and they will tell you that there is nothing worse than being caught in the Doldrums, that region along the equator that is notorious for deadly calms that can trap a ship for weeks at a time. The endless monotony, the breathless air, the overwhelming boredom can lead to a madness that no storm could ever create.

For the past few months, that is exactly how my life (both physical and spiritual) has felt. You might have guessed that from my general lack of posting. I have been listless and uninspired and I seem to be getting nowhere fast. Not that my life is bad; in fact, it's actually pretty good compared to most. It's just that I feel like I am stalling in the middle of a vast nothingness, wanting to move forward but unable to. Things that I once had a passion for have become routine and boring. Church, family, and life itself seem to have lost their flavor and I find myself simply going through the motions rather than really growing.

So the questions that I now face are how long until God blows me into the open sea again? And, more importantly, how do I survive until that day comes?