Everyday Canvas

Oh, That Muse!

Prompt:
"The muse always has wings and nests in fire?"
From the Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer
What is your take on this quote and do you trust, distrust, and/or fear your muse, i.e your imagination?

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Did your thoughts and imagination ever surprise and shock you by going from one end to the opposite of an idea? That is certainly the work of our trickster muses. I think this is what the quote is trying to tell us.

What our muses do to our thinking and planning of a writing or art work is awesome, as it can be both liberating and demanding. Liberating and demanding, yes, for this can inspire the writer or the artist to reach new heights, engage with the deepest passion and deal with the dangers and challenges of the creative process.

Creative process needs freedom and the ability to soar over the mundane limits of tried-and-true anything. This type of inspiration or "wings" can pop up from anywhere and carry the writer to the hilltops of imagination and creativity.

Yet, at the same time, it is elusive and fleeting, never staying in one place too long. This kind of inspiration comes in bursts, especially for me, and before I can grasp it or jot the idea down, it flies away. In this way, it is difficult to capture and hold onto.

Then, sometimes, a burning desire takes hold when an intense emotion strikes. That intense emotion is the fire that drives most writers, poets, and artists to produce their fantastic, original, and possibly best works. However, just as fire can bring new life and purify, it can also destroy. This duality is the creative process that burns off old ideas to make room for new, innovative ones. This, therefore, needs a nest to nurture and grow the new seedlings or baby ideas. And that nest is the art of the artist and the pen of the writer and poet. Muse is the one who brings the new life into that nest.

Now, do I fear and distrust or love my muse? Both. For in either case, my muse is nutty and fun to watch, and I hope I may be able to, at least, appreciate his offerings.