What Is A Muse?
The Wonder Of Having A Muse To Inspire You
Introduction
This is my own personal interpretation of what a Muse is to me, others may and do see the interpretation differently. I am slightly worried that I have touched this subject several times before but I think it is always good to revisit the things that inspire you to create things.
We often start things at full speed and then life and commitments take over and often stifle our creativity, and I continue to try and create on a daily basis. I know not everyone can do that, but I do like writing because people are usually supportive and I get to say what I like.
I try not to offend people and hope to show them something new and take them somewhere new, and this is about how my Muses have stimulated and still stimulate my creativity.
A Muse can be a thing, a pet, a place or a person. For me, it is usually people and has always been women. This is entirely about trust, friendship and care, without that I have no Muse, so every Muse of mine has those qualities.
What My Muses Do For Me
My Muses are all friends of mine and we are always there for each other. We chat regularly but we demand nothing from each other. If either of us is down we give reciprocal support.
The main way my Muses inspire me is just by chatting about anything, and that puts me in an excellent mood in myself, and then when we finish our chats the words flow, often about totally unrelated things.
This piece is inspired by one of my Muses who I was worried I had lost, recontacting me with a beautiful message which resulted in a special poem for her and also this.
Another Muse is a personal reconnection and she was publishing some amazing images, and I asked if she would be a Muse for me and she was really happy with the suggestion.
I have a Dark Muse who suggested that I write Dark Poetry and stories. That has resulted in thirty poems and several stories so far and there will be a book published before Christmas based on that poetry. We also play Wordle and Weaver on a daily basis and compare scores.
I often write poetry for my Muses to show my appreciation for them. Sometimes these are about subjects they love and often I will weave them into the words of the poems. Every so often I write poetry to express my love for them.
I can never give enough thanks to my first Muse for inspiring me to write so many works and giving me the confidence to actually continue writing, but she has now moved on but we all change and cannot remain stagnant.
Music is also an inspiration in combination with the ideas that my Muses cause me to have, and often our musical tastes coincide giving me more inspiration to write.
I am also inspired by places and landmarks and find that just walking gives me ideas and inspiration and my Muses amplify all this for me. Don't ask me how, but it happens.
Conclusion
For some creators, even solitude can become a Muse, and when I create I usually do it in solitude. I have only ever had one collaborator my spiritual sister Melissa, although I am generally far too indisciplined to work with others, but without the inspiration that my Muses give me I would not be here.
I've included Lissie's take on Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" as that is what we have to do, and I love that song.
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Comments (5)
This is a great and interesting read, Mike! Loved learning more about where your inspiration comes from. I've never really thought about what my Muse is; I guess it's just my emotions! They are definitely crazy 😅
I don't really have a muse... Although I do have people that inspire me from time to time - both male and female. I do have one friend that gives me prompts on occasion. I guess my mom is the closest thing to a muse for me... But probably she is more an inspiration than anything else. However, I enjoyed reading you point of view on muses. Good read.
I'm so happy that a simple suggested from me has made you write 30 dark poems. You're so talented!
This is inspiring! Thank you for giving us a little glimpse into your own inspirations. :)
Well thought through. I joked that my muse was a smart young teenager at my former church. His parents (closer to my age) owned a bookstore and he encouraged me to show my writing to them as he, like the younger generation, pursued online formats to publish his writing. My friend, Maria Calderoni, brought me to Vocal..so she served as a muse, and I find inspiring ideas through many people and life experiences. Another friend also challenged me to share darker stuff. We find our muses in many forms!