Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Search for the Muse - Courting Inspiration


Like the tides of oceans, inspiration arrives, then recedes.

What can be done to maximize the fruitful times, when this blessed wave of inspiration lands and it makes you feel as though it has never been any other way? Perhaps the first step is to acknowledge the existence of such an illumed state.


To sustain me through the difficult periods, I will be able to rely on what Hans Küng calls an “enlightened trust.” My faith in the existence of such an illuminated place is what permits it to return. I have chosen to accept that this cyclical cycle is not designed as some punishment for my not having accorded it the proper respect or for some other moral misstep I may have committed. Instead, I chose to see this grace arriving, as needed.


Is there a way for us, as writers eager to work regularly, to avoid what can only be called “a barren vacuum” of inspiration? I am certain we all experience it -- those times when we are motivated to capture some inspired work yet when we sit down to do so, our creative imagination appears to have taken some temporary leave.



We are like magicians dashing our hands into our top hats and finding there is no rabbit to pull out. Or worse -- the rabbit bites back.


In determining a relationship built upon respecting this informing force, I chose to believe it is intermittent. When inspiration strikes, I am prepared to receive it and so have constructed a system which accomplishes this effectively.

One of the objectives of writing this blog is to discover and hopefully discuss with others, this phenomena. It is this exploration that shall keep me out of the realms of superstition or fanaticism.




How can we come to better understand the conditions of our creative vitality? In these times, when our imagination has been freed and the mind is alert enough to be able to capture passionately what is being expressed, how may I better assist this miraculous exchange?


It is a goal of mine, as a writer, to live in respectful conformity with these more fruitful conditions and to remain free from a sense of entitlement that will render me expectant and disgruntled when the imagination recedes.

In the harmonization of these elements, I believe the truth will lie.



{Artwork by Yayoi Kusama}

2 comments:

  1. Total deja vu right now. You have a beautiful mind Meredith. I love this whole blog series about the exploration of the imagination. You truly speak your own beautiful language. Very unique and original. You are out of this world.

    "How can we come to better understand the conditions of our creative vitality? In these times, when our imagination has been freed and the mind is alert enough to be able to capture passionately what is being expressed, how may I better assist this miraculous exchange?"

    ^ that was amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so pleased this speaks to you, Joshua. One of the most mysterious aspects of creative writing is where we find the vitality and vision to translate what is playing out on the screen of imagination. I wish you all luck in negotiating this exchange, for it is one of the most worthwhile.

    ReplyDelete