Monday Muse
Vision, Time Travel, Temperance
Happy Monday, friends!
It’s been steamy in New Orleans. This weather makes me want to hermit in my house. Which is exactly what I’ve been doing. I’ve been reading, bingeing Top Chef and Love Island, doing my nails, taking luxurious naps, and talking on the phone to friends. It’s pretty great.
Honestly, I’ve been grappling a bit with What’s-Next-itis. When I moved to New Orleans in October, it was supposed to be a launching pad. I figured I’d just chill here until the next thing appeared. But what I’m learning is that the next thing rarely knocks on your door and invites you on adventure. It actually requires you to -gasp- TAKE ACTION.
I hate it.
I hate it because I’ve put my neck out of a few times in the last six months and ended up with a sore neck and regrets.
And I’ve realized that I can no longer avoid the honest next thing. The next thing that I’ve been avoiding. The next thing that is actually the old thing.
I need to finish a book.
I am so good at keeping myself busy. I take trips. I paint kitchens. I try new hairstyles. I go on dates. I teach. But through it all there is a nagging voice that keeps saying, “You should be writing.”
It’s always been this way. Well, it’s been this way since I recognized what the voice was saying and actually tried to be a writer.
Stephen King said, “Life isn’t a support system for art—it’s the other way around.”
My life works better when I’m writing. It works better when I’m actively finishing the damned thing. But life has been life-ing for a while now. I keep saying, once this latest thing calms down I’ll focus. But there’s always a new thing to distract me.
So now it’s time for a mindset shift. It’s time to create the vision that will sustain me through the boring days, the pulling-teeth days, the OMG why did I ever start writing days. The Vision will help me get out of bed and avoid seeking drama to entertain myself because the book I’m writing is better.
So that’s what I’m doing this week: I’m creating The Vision. Next week I’ll tell you how I did that because I’m still figuring that part out.
The Muse Recommends
Book: For the Seton Hill University semiannual residency, we always read a novel as a program and discuss it on campus. This time we’re reading The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. It’s about a woman who is hired by a secret UK agency to act as an ambassador of sorts to time refugees. She’s assigned to a man who was part of the Arctic expedition of Terror fame. It’s an engrossing read with the kind of writing that makes me jealous. There’s humor, depth, and some romance. I’ve not finished it yet, but I keep finding little breaks in the day to sneak extra pages. Give it a read!
The next two recommendations are other Substack posts that blew me away. They both fall under the category of “Lessons for Living.” Check them out.
-Practices that Help You Understand What You Want From Life by Milk and Cookies
Tarot Prompt
This week’s card comes from The Muse Tarot by Chris-Anne.
Temperance.
Key words: Harmony, balance, avoiding excess, alchemy, moderation
Temperance reminds us that middle path is where healing happens. This is the voice of reason, not reactivity. It’s having patience but also having a purpose. Consider this a pit stop to avoiding creative burnout. Learn to take breaks but also understand that sometimes breaks are just avoidance disguised as self care. Be measured in your actions. Creativity is a steady jog, not a sprint to a finish line. Finish lines are constructs here, anyway. The idea is to sustain your creativity by taking a balanced approach. How can you balance the need to survive with the need to play? Both are important.
To Do List:
-Drink some water. Look, just do it. You know you need to.
-Stop what you’re doing right now and do the opposite of it. If you’re hunched over scowling at your screen, put down the phone, stand, and stretch your arms high overhead. Think of Rebecca in Ted Lasso doing the power stance.
-How would you describe the overall vibe of your attitude toward your creative work lately? How can you balance it out? For example, if you’ve been all “OMG I need to push through and churn out some work, go go go!” maybe give yourself permission to spend fifteen minutes daydreaming instead. You might find that your brain reacts pretty well to the break. Or if you’ve been doing nothing but daydreaming, maybe set a timer for 15 minutes and see how fast you can write. Balance, friends.
I hope you have a great week, my friends!
-The Messy Muse