Wrestling and soaring with the Muse

 

We have some responsibility for the magic that happens in our lives.  Most of us in this culture have been given lives that allow us to focus time and energy on pursuits other than survival.  We have an opportunity to involve ourselves in activities that can bring growth, love and magic in to our lives ……or not.

One of the many paths that offer us richness in our lives is the arts.  As an artist there is an opportunity to experience the passionate fire of creativity.  The spirit of creativity fills you, transforms you, burns through you and allows you to feel connected to something much larger and more powerful than yourself.  Once we have sensed the possibility of this or have been fortunate enough to experience it, we are drawn to it like moths to the flame.

As we become familiar with this passionate fire and remember it, it makes sense to work at being an artist.  As we work, we long to be swept away and transformed by our muse.  Our muse becomes our lover.  Each day I head to my studio hoping for an affair with this lover, but alas, it seems an unfaithful lover.   It seems my muse will not show up today; it may be visiting the artist down the street.  At this point I can become the abandoned tortured artist or I can have faith in my experience.

My experience tells me that as long as I work, sincerely putting in my time and effort, my muse will return in its own good time.  So I work, plodding away, but growing and slowly making my way.  I work at staying receptive and following the clues of my fascinations.  When the muse returns and I am swept up in the passionate fire of creativity, I receive it with gratitude.  My life is enriched by the longing, the wrestling and the soaring with the muse.

3 thoughts on “Wrestling and soaring with the Muse

  1. Nice, Ted – Yes, the unpredictability of the creative flow and its fire, or its coolness, is both the charm/joy and the pain of lacklustre days when the work feels uninspired. Great to have the reminder from your writings on this subject, that it’s part of the process. Gotta remember the process.

  2. Thanks, I am not sure about your question. The writing is some of the thoughts behind the painting. The painting is one of my works, which I do sell. I also sell prints of them. Thanks for your comments and encouragement

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