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I would concur with the advice of others to hold onto your gear, but give it a break for a while. Absence can often make the heart grow fonder.
After 5 years of being very fervent about our Noble Interest, I lost some enthusiasm in the course of 2010. It was partly a run of poor weather, and partly that I found some other things that were capturing my interest, and you can only keep up that initial enthusiasm for so long.
But having had a break for about 6 months, I feel freshly motivated all of a sudden, a few weeks ago I observed three nights in succession, like old times! I even cleaned my eyepieces, the mirror in the Mary Rose, and have been gazing longingly in astronomy atlases.
I agree that meeting with others can help with the motivation, as can setting new goals, trying to do things a different way, or setting yourself a special project (like becoming an expert in a type of astronomical object, or in a particular constellation, etc). This year I am heading off to the northern hemisphere for a holiday, and I am trying to line up a visit to an observatory so that I can see some stuff from the far northern hemisphere. That has gotten me very excited!
This morning, I even found myself giving an imaginery astronomy lecture whilst in the shower. I was trying to explain the immensity of the cosmos to a fictitious audience. I realised the fundamental of why astronomy appeals to me...it is the wonder of it all. Tapping back into the wonder has helped me a huge amount. When it is all about getting the next bit of kit, or keeping with the Jones'/having to the have the latest EP, then one can lose the raison d'etre. Maybe think about what got you into it in the first place, and focus on that when you have taken leave of absence for a while.
Good luck!
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