Have you ever considered the word ‘muse’?
And no, I don’t mean the English rock band, though they have some bangers.
I mean the word itself.
Muse is defined by Google as “a source of creative inspiration, or the act of thinking deeply and reflectively.”
Though used in separate contexts, the two appear inextricably linked in my brain. How logical that, to receive creative inspiration, one would need to spend time thinking deeply and reflectively. And it makes sense that if one thinks deeply and reflectively, they will experience creative inspiration if they intend to do so.
So much of U.S. culture perpetuates this attitude of hustle and bustle. Historically, hustle equated to success. But what have we lost in the pursuit of that ‘success’?
Anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges in our nation’s youth: all are signs that there is something fundamentally wrong with the function of our society.
There was a time that we experienced ‘triggers’ internally to signal that a change needed to take place in our outer world. Now the vernacular has shifted to being ‘triggered’ by external forces. Our outer world has become more and more reflective of our inner space, to the point that there’s no room for deep reflection.
Or another perspective is that people have become so uncomfortable with a quiet mind because of the constant visual and auditory input that they try to avoid what was once a mental respite.
As we sacrifice what it means to muse, I’m aware that we also give up our privilege of receiving from the muse.
Elizabeth Gilbert writes in her book on creativity, titled Big Magic, about a concept related to how ideas show up.
She posits that ideas visit each of us. If they are realized and shared, they continue to come. However, if we do not embrace ideas as they come, they will move on to the next person.
Creativity is available to all.
In this hustle culture, where everything centers around busy, have we stopped to consider that quiet is contribution?
As we sit in reflection and deep thinking for the simple pleasure of appreciating what it means to be, we invite the muse to impart wisdom and inspiration. Through that inspiration, we make things that have the power to create ripples, and those ripples become waves, expanding outward.
I spoke to a friend recently about movements throughout history, and one of the things they brought up was how change has often been facilitated by and originated with the ‘artist.’ It is the creatives, the idealists, those who view the world through the lens of possibility, those who recognize the discrepancy between where we are and where we can be, who release things into the world.
As they do this, society is invited to accept or reject what is offered as it aligns with its vision.
But there is one indisputable fact, and that is that truth cannot lie.
When people are united by a common truth, unified strength emerges.
Art can do that. Art can connect people by drawing them to the common truth: that we are all human, that we all feel, that we all are deserving of love, that we all have the capacity to love.
Love can do anything.
Love is the muse.
As we reflect and think deeply, let us connect with the muse. Let us love ourselves. Let us love others. Let us show up for this imperfect life every day, ready to give and quick to thank.
In doing so, we make the world a better place. In doing so, we become a window to the muse.