The Power of the Pivot

Recently, I was writing in a local coffee-house.  Although I have arranged my home to shelter and inspire my muse, sometimes I need to change my writing space.  Becoming a writer has given me the gift of solitude as I search and excavate my mind for ideas.  That’s good.  But sometimes my environment distracts me with housekeeping tasks, paying attention to my wonderful roommates (a husband that I love and a daughter who I adore) and the need for stimulation and encouragement.  That is when I venture out into the world.

I once wrote a lovely piece of prose in the midst of a food court in a large mall.  I was inspired by the gentleness of a liberally tattooed father in his early twenties tenderly feeding his baby.  I would have missed that in my home office.  That day I learned that public spaces can give me inspiring glimpses of humanity.

Nestling into a corner table with my local barista, sipping my deeply aromatic coffee, I started the journey into myself.  I was facing the window and looking at parked cars.  I turned the table forty-five degrees and then I was viewing the mountains and the beautiful white puffy clouds in a royal blue sky.  I thought to myself, ” I do not have this view from my office window.”  My office at home provides me with a view of outdoor art and a wonderful burst of green trailing plants with a glimpse of the sky through the foliage.  This provides comforting and nourishing support.

The view from the table in my coffee-house gave me the sky and a feeling of expansion.  Comparing this to my home office view, one is a cocoon and the other is an opening.  I need both of them.  As I surrounded myself with the windows open to the sky, I took bold steps to edit and complete a few chapters for my manuscript.  The expanse of the sky as well as the sounds of voices and music brought me to the completion of my task. Those influences were exactly what I needed on that day.

Where are you sitting?  What would happen if you changed your surroundings or moved your perch in a new direction?  Movement allows us to pivot and create a turning point.  A change of pace and space can provide renewal and insight.  We pivot and experience change.  And our muse follows us wherever we go.

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Courage on the Surface

One morning  I was pulling out of my driveway and I noticed a fresh green shoot of an agave plant that had made its way through the openings in the rock wall that held the roots of its mother. That burst of new energy held me there for a moment.

I thought of the route it had to travel, weaving its way through the underground as it created a path to reach the sun.  It was now exposed and would create a new path of growth.  It reminded me of an idea as it formulates in the brain and travels along the intellectual highway with imagination as a willing passenger.  Just as the agave offspring breathes green into a brown landscape, a new idea makes its way into the world, is spoken and experienced, and changes a trend forever.

Look outside.  There are messages there midst the colors, the debris, the blooms and the remains of a frost.  What do you see?  What growth within you is making its way through your interior?

I think I’ll go and put some water on my courageous agave offspring.  At the same time, I will keep moistening my ideas as they stretch and reach for exposure.

What is waiting to surface from your underground?  You might want to reach down and pull it up.  See if it likes the air up here.

Create a wonderful Saturday for yourself and thanks for visiting.

Ellen

Shine a Light

Greetings!

This blog,  A Home for your Muse, is written to inspire you and delight you. There are many definitions for a muse. The one most prevalent here is ” a guiding genius”.  Each of us has a genius within us that is asking to be utilized.  We change dramatically over time and our genius changes along with us.  Our muse has moods and needs.  That is why we may go to school with one goal and create a career with another revenue stream.  Our muse does that. Our muse is a creator.

In this blog, change will be a recurring theme coupled with the freedom of movement.  It is okay to change your mind, it is okay to follow your inner guidance and it is better than okay to see decisions manifested in your environments.  That is how you make a home for your muse.  You think it, move it, delight in it.

Here is an example:

I traveled last week and returned home to find some stargazer lilies in my kitchen under a light.  One was in full bloom, but the rest were closed and waiting.  After four days, they were still closed and waiting. Like me.  I needed something to happen, I needed to create something and I was waiting for permission, the right time, a perfect opportunity.  Yesterday, I noticed that one of the lilies was struggling to open so I changed their location to the living room where they would get  full sun in the morning.  This morning, I looked in at them and three more were blooming.  Overnight. One day of shining a light and they were encouraged and opened.

My muse has been telling me to do a blog for a very long time.  The opening of the lilies and the beginning of the blog coincide and complement one another.  I encourage you to have your homes and offices speak the language of your muse.  In signing off, you may want to think about changing one thing today, a picture, a point of view,  a place for a lunch date.  See what happens.

I will talk to you tomorrow. I have to go now and have a conversation with my muse.  Thanks for taking the time to visit.