Finding the Muse

Creative types are always in search of inspiration, the muse who gives rise to some of the greatest works ever created. All artists have their muses; writers have theirs as well. But the muse can be elusive. She comes and goes as she pleases, and when she does grace you with her presence, it is best not to turn her away. Otherwise, you will find yourself in search of her anywhere and everywhere.

I find that I am in constant need of searching out the muse as I often let her come and go, but luckily, I have learned where to look when my creativity as reached a low point; once you know where to look for your muse, you will find her every time. I find my inspiration in the words of others: Poets, songwriters, novelists who write with near perfection and use words to elicit great emotion. I find it in music that moves within you. I find it in art, beautiful, creative, divine. I find it in the creativity of the Divine itself, in the moonlight that bathes silhouetted images of night, in the distant rolling storm clouds, in the breaking of dawn.

And I find it in others, those who inspire and leave me in awe. So, I wonder, how do you find your muse? Who, or what, inspires you?

Destroying Good Work

As a writer, I take pride in creating work that is not only well written, but that also is easily read by the target audience. This can be a painstakingly tedius task, consisting of writing and rewriting to get the words and syntax correct, but it's worth it.

When working for a client, you expect changes. After all, they know best what the desired message and its effect are, and in many cases they simply can't get that information across to the writer. So changes will come. And that's okay. It's expected. But then there are the times when you get the message right, and instead of the client focusing on content, they rip the grammar apart, grammar that was once correct and is not anymore. They make a mess of the work you so painstakingly created for them.

This drives me crazy, especially when the problems are created by those who just don't get it. They're not writers. They're not editors. Their expertise lies elsewhere. And therein lies the problem...

Chasing Perfection

Here's what I know: All our lives, from the first moment we begin to dream, from the time we start to believe that we will achieve everything we want most in life, we begin to seek perfection in all we do, in all we create. We become focused on obtaining perfection, and in doing so we lose sight of the very thing we wanted originally. The "means" obliterates the "end."

In writing, I can self-correct and analyze every word I choose to use, replacing, rewriting, revising until there is nothing left of the original piece anymore. Books don't get finished. Manuscripts are tossed aside. Nothing is ever good enough. This is chasing perfection, and perfection, no matter who you are or what you do, doesn't exist in this realm.

So instead of destroying creation in this relentless pursuit of that which will never be, it is better to let your self go and love that which we do create. Because in reality, there always will be those who will stand in your way, or who will tell you your work isn't worthy: they, too, are seeking perfection.

Don't believe them. Anything created from you is co-created with the divine, and is perfect in and of itself. And that should be enough...

Motherless Daughters

So here's a thought...Mother's Day. For most people, Mother's Day is a joyous occasion, one in which we celebrate those who nurture, care for, and unconditionally love us. It's just one day, one day out of the year, when we give pause to spend time with those women who have had the most influence on our lives.

However, for some of us, Mother's Day serves as a cruel reminder of what could have been but will never be. It's one day, just one, but no matter how many years go by, no matter how much distance we place between ourselves and the loss of our mothers, we are reminded year after year that we no longer have that one person who loved us no matter what.

We are motherless daughters.

Watching other women spend time with their mothers reminds me of just how different my reality is. I missed out on getting to know my mother as her adult child. She doesn't know my children, nor they her. She doesn't know of the things I've accomplished with my life.

Sometimes I still feel as if I am 31, as if time stood still the day I lost my mother. And maybe in some ways it has.

A Love Affair...

A love affair...

I have to admit, I am in love. Well, maybe not love, but rather a school-girl-type of crush. And though this love isn't quite yet an affair by most standards, it's an affair all the same to me.

Do you remember how it felt, how you felt deep inside, when you experienced that first flush of love? So new, so mysterious, so head-spinning delicious? That's what a new love can do for you. When life becomes static, you tend to look for something somewhere else, something...close. You look for something that excites, ignites that flame within. And when you find it, you hold on to it, albeit from a distance.

Because really, even though you may not be intending to act on this new-found love, this crush, if you will, the feeling it provides is enough to carry you through. In fact, these feelings can inspire you, be your muse, even spark great creativity.

So now you may be wondering, even curious, about whom I am writing. Who says that a love affair needs to be with another person? Couldn't one easily fall in love with an idea, an idea so inspiring that it washes over and through you, changing you forever? And couldn't a love affair involve simply falling in love with life? Or one's relationship with the Divine, so personal, so intimate, mysterious in itself? So then, maybe my love affair, my crush, is simply with the written word.

For the moment, I'm not telling...