Hi Bob, I go through periods when I don't feel like playing and I have a few different ways of coping with it. I'll tell myself that this is a good opportunity to improve my technique and will dive head first into scale exercises, arppegios, right hand exercises etc. and just plow through them on a daily basis like a machine until my musical inclinations return. I also might attempt to learn a new piece that is particularly challenging and requires intense concentration. You'll be surprised how quickly time flies when doing this. Or I'll concentrate on playing mandolin. However if things are to the point where you can't even pick up the instrument (I get that way sometimes) you can use that time you'd normally dedictate to playing to reading or to a hobby or to whatever else enriches you. This might help bring a new perspective when you return to playing and open up some ideas that might not have occurred to you previously. After these sabbaticals I feel a bit clumsy when I come back to it but it's kind of like being reunited with the love in your life and everything feels fresh and new which compensates for the pain and awkwardness. Good luck, vl