The Muse ditches me when I need her the most!
But, when present, it is such a wondrous feeling. That sudden burst of ideas can be so exciting. The words we want to share begins to pour like magic— smooth, easy and clear, as if no power can ever get in the way of that cascading flow.
But, alas! Life happens!
And we find ourselves bruised, hurt and suddenly having to deal with a loss of words. Our muse, feeling slighted, slips away quietly, without a warning. Before we’ve realised, we are busy grappling with the mighty force of emotional turbulence, And even though we still have a million things to say, we find we are bereft of the very words that would have flowed effortlessly, a few minutes ago!
The dichotomy of life! What can one say about it?
Often, when we wish to break our silence, and share our angst through our writing, we find ourselves stuck, unable to gather our thoughts cohesively or frame them in the right way.
I’ve been struggling with this for a long time. And what I’ve learned is this—between waiting for the muse to turn up (one can never predict her re-appearance!) and brutishly forcing my way to get the word counts, there is another way that sometimes works for me—to just be, let go of my thoughts and do other things that have nothing to do with writing.
Somedays, the muse makes a quiet reappearance in a day or two. Often, though, life takes over. The writing process is on a long indefinite pause.
Those are the difficult days for me. The days that I silently dread. Incidentally, those are the days when the mind is caught in a combat, to quell the inner turmoil.
Those are the days when my books rescue me from drowning into the depths of the bottomless pit.
It’s never easy when that happens, but I know, that’s the only way I’ll find my way back.
The words come in drops, that turn into trickles and then, gathering momentum, start flowing in full spate.
The blank sheet of paper isn’t empty anymore.
********
Written as part of our #SoulfulSunday free writing exercise, along with my friends Vinitha and Shilpa.
Also linking up with Monday Musings hosted by Corinne at Everyday Gyaan.
I enjoyed the trip down the rabbit hole with you. We seem to be kindred spirits.
Monday Musings #6
I think a lot of us relate to these emotions of turmoil. The muse is so unpredictable, so I’ve made it a point now to scribble my thoughts on a notepad or sticky note, so when time comes, I’m ready.