“My closets had never been so clean as they were when I decided to write a book.” A friend told me this. I knew exactly what she meant. It is that temptation to straighten things up before we start following inspiration’s tug. Somehow everything around us needs to be neat and orderly before we begin.
If you want to get rid of the muse, the best thing you can do is delay. The muse calls us no matter the condition of our closets, kitchen sink, or the pile of laundry in the corner. It’s a lesson I’ve been learning again and again.
In fact, that seems to be the very time we get called. When it seems inconvenient, we are tested to see how much we really care about our where our longing leads.
Being in Ajijic, Mexico has taught me that self-expression can spring forth no matter the surrounding conditions. Paintings on the outside walls of buildings are wondrous. Color and form is used in the most exuberant manner. And yet, sidewalks are a mess, piles of dirt dot the streets, littered lots of trash are here and there. Dog poop on the sidewalk is a walking a hazard.
It’s that juxtaposition between great beauty and the everyday dirt we encounter that is inspiring. Imagine if someone said you can’t start painting these glorious paintings until every crack in the sidewalk is repaired. Or don’t pick up your paintbrush, until you clean up every vacant lot.
This often happens with us. Some part of us starts screaming that our life needs to be orderly before we answer inspiration’s call. Maybe it isn’t our closets that need to be neat. Maybe it is something else. Do you know what you are waiting for?”
I am waiting for the…
kids to grow up
mortgage to be paid
401(k) fully vested
Or fill in the blank ____.
These questions and others linger at the edge of inspiration
Two years ago in Ajijic, we stayed in Casa de los Sueños, “House of Dreams.” It’s such a perfect name for this inn. Mary, the innkeeper, dreamed this place into existence. As she said, step by step, not knowing for sure how to do it. She trusted that the next step would become obvious. She also shared a story about a corporate job she once held.
There was a group of women doing data entry. She sat with them and asked what their dreams were. “What would you do if you were not doing data entry?” Their answers to this question astonished her. They each had something else they were wishing to do. One woman said she always dreamed of having a greenhouse and growing amazing plants. The woman had figured out everything, what it looked like, what she would grow. And yet she didn’t do it.
She waited.
She may still be waiting.
Any of us can fall into that pattern. Somehow it seems safer not to act. In truth, not acting is dangerous. I’ve read many Dream quotes. They boil down to, “Don’t die with your dreams still within you.” To me, that would be such a sad loss for you and the world. We each have gifts and talents to share. Risking and sharing makes the world a better place.
My friend did write her book. A book that touched many hearts and won awards. She decided that doing what she longed for was more important than having a tidy closet. She could always do that someday. But on that day, she sat down.
She began to write.
She stopped waiting.
Are you still waiting?