Creative Solutions and Inspirations from the Modern Day Muses

From Snakes to Delight

By Jill Badonsky, M.Ed.

You are on a mountain path. You come to a dark place. The sun is obscured by a tunnel of vines, tundra and sloping stone. You see a snake just ahead on the path. You stand back, your heart races, adrenaline pumps and you act impulsively and instinctively to avoid the danger of potential harm. Fear overtakes you. You turn and go back cutting short the bliss of your journey to the anticipated view, a pinnacle, a peak experience. Progressing forward does not seem worth the risk.

A few steps back you remember you have a flashlight in your backpack. Turning to go back to the tunnel you shine the light on the threat only to find that it is a stick. Walking over to examine it, you see engraved upon the stick a statement: “You are so on the right path and booty-fullness beyond your wildest dreams is in store for you, keep going friend!” (It’s a long stick).

In that instance your inner reality changes. There was no change in the outer world whatsoever. The stick was always a sign of encouragement and never a danger. The illusion of fear masked the beauty of the journey. The illusion of fear stops us from our creative call. That snake is fear of failure, of success, of wasting precious time and resources on something that may go nowhere. It is fear of change — of more responsibility and sacrificing a comfortable rut. These are some of the many fears that keep us from embarking upon our creative trail with exalted curiosity and openness to the wonder that is gifted to us at every turn.

The illusion of fear is banished with the light that comes when you trust the process enough to embark upon it with wild abandon at the beginning. Give yourself permission to start from the nine muses who award you with inspiration just because you take a step in a direction that is true to you. Fear of failure is replaced by skills that develop with practice and awareness that first attempts sometimes require ninth ones. Fear of success gives way to self respect for following your creative dream a little at a time and acclimating to each new level of illustrious responsibility. Fear of sacrificing a comfortable rut is swapped with the delight of fulfilling discovery and fear of wasting your time on something that goes nowhere pales to the fringe benefits of the creative process: enhanced authenticity, flexibility, resourcefulness, becoming more colorful creatures, loving life more… in addition to any product or result that arises from our effort.

Marge, The Muse of Okay Now Let’s Get Started once again surfaces to remind you that if you begin a creative call in increments so small that fear is not summoned, you will soon build a momentum that fear cannot stop. Five minutes of writing, collaging or painting at a time … 30 seconds of daydreaming, thinking about your idea on the commute, in the shower. Fear does not suspect these small steps as anything significant or serious and is fooled. Yet these small steps build and create habits, action and creative routines. Albert, the Muse of Ingenuity and Imagination says reframe the fear as an affirmation of growth and Bea Silly says “Lighten up, it is only a stick pretending to be a snake in the darkness, with illumination… it is delight.” •

Copyright © Jill Badonsky, 2006. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Jill Badonsky
Jill Badonsky, M.Ed. is a nationally recognized workshop leader, artist, performer, humorist, and author of the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence. She teaches creativity lovers to facilitate classes and workshops based on her book and along with UCLA psychologist, Robert Maurer, she trains people to be Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaches. She can be found lurking at www.themuseisin.com.

05/13/06