Rediscovering the Author and Artist’s Creative Muse

by Jayme H. Mansfield  @JaymeMansfield

I’d been searching for my creative muse for a long time. Somewhere along the journey I’d lost, or at least misplaced her in the hustle, bustle, meet the expectations of the world.

It wasn’t that my time wasn’t well spent. My productivity hadn’t faltered and my enjoyment hadn’t waned. My friends and family knew I spent the majority of my time writing at my computer or painting at my easel.  Heck, I’d been a writer for nearly twelve years and owned and taught visual art in my studio and in schools for well over twenty. 

“Surely, she must be quite creative!” Well, yes … and no.

My soul nudged that something was missing, or more accurately, hidden from my heart’s view. And then it happened …

A life-changing moment

… An experience that leaves you staggering (in a good way), steals your breath and unleashes an unknown, forgotten, and often ignored part of your very essence.

I actually had two moments, not too long ago—events that forever changed my life—not so much in an obvious, outward way, but an internal shift. Two moments so powerful and stirring, yet left me peaceful and still.

One on a mountain—on a horse—galloping across the top of a Wyoming butte, exhilarated and alive, leaning into the stride, loosening the reins, and welcoming the tears streaming down my face. No fear, no regret. I was free.

The other on an island—relinquishing assumptions, erasing restraints, and instead painting big and bold, intuitively and passionately. Painting from my heart, not so much my mind.  No agenda, no judgement. I was free.

God met me in those moments. He whispered in my ear as the wind caught my cowboy hat and released the tie in my hair. He held my hand as I placed brush to palette, and then to canvas—a myriad of colors and texture—stirring my soul, giving permission to 

Loosen the Reins and Lean into the Creative Life.

Bottom Line

Now, firmly grounded at my writing desk with art studio nearby, I realize I didn’t have to be on a mountaintop or overlooking the ocean blue (although they sure were lovely). All the time my rediscovery was within reach. I simply needed to clear the path—my mind—cluttered with too many to-do’s, self-imposed expectations, undisclosed fears, and a need to know what was always happening on the other side of the fence. The only thing I needed … to be still with God and become reacquainted with the person He uniquely created to create.

If given the chance again to race across the high plain or paint with the sea as the backdrop, I’d close up the computer, toss my paintbrush in the bin, and rush out the door. But really, who am I kidding? That’s not always real life.

Instead, I pause more often now, closing my eyes and feeling the wind in my face and the lavender waft from the gardens below. I return to those places, if only in my mind … and I am free, free to be creative as I was purposely made to be.

Are you free? Do you yearn to be? Please share how you’ve found your muse, or perhaps you’re wanting to loosen your reins and lean into your creative life.

And truly, it’s okay either way because we’re journeying together on this wild ride we call life!

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