Musing: The Muse Has Been Gone – Again!

So I have been in a Muse-less slump again.  Inspiration has not been my companion, days have passed and my fingers have not felt the urge to run eagerly across the keyboard of my computer.  There has been no “de-pression” and I have not sighed deeply, mournfully,  every time I walked past lap-top.

I no longer struggle with feeling inadequate or as if I “should” be writing, no matter what.  I am totally comfortable with the fact that there are periods when inspiration pours down on me and through me like the waters in a continuously gushing fountain.  And there are other times when I seem to be walking through an arid desert.  But at least I know that the oasis is just a little way across the dunes and I have learned to be patient until it comes into sight.  I refuse to accept mirages as excuses just to get on the computer.

At the moment I am on vacation with my husband in Orlando, Florida.  It’s become a yearly tradition for us now during the Thanksgiving week.  We have a small time-share and we come away from our “normal” routine and just relax together.  But that in and of itself always brings some small rearranging within myself.  It’s that “change” thing again.

I have to adjust to not having “my stuff” around me, although, not hindered by luggage restriction (we drive here), we do our best to bring whatever we want to have with us.  This includes lap-tops, games (in my husband’s case), books (that’s me), and I lug everything I need to do my yearly Christmas mail drop. 

I have hundreds of cards, stamps, address labels, silver and gold gel pens, purple pens, etc and while Rich plays games or does his geekie stuff on his Net-book, I attack my list of approximately two hundred friends around the world. Being in the military you either choose not to make friends because you’re constantly moving, or you make lots of friends and stay in touch.  I fall into this second category.

So for part of each day I have been writing inside cards, addressing envelopes, attaching stamps and applying Christmas stickers.  The weather has not been wonderful so I have only been to the pool twice in four days.  But because I have to be outside, my Christmas card project takes place on the balcony overlooking the pool. 

When I’m not card writing, I bring my current book out and read with the noise of the pool’s waterfall in the background.  The resort is full at the moment and is hosting quite a few families so I am grateful that the overall peacefulness is not broken by shouts and screams and general noise created by many people gathered within a restricted area.  I am mostly just grateful to God that we are able to do something like this given today’s economic climate.

Today must have been “breakthrough” day, although I think it started yesterday evening but we had plans to go out.  When I got up this morning, I knew I was going to write: wasn’t sure quite what about, but that is often the case.  The subject matter was not fully formed in my mind but there was a bubbling sensation in my heart and soul and I knew I needed to sit at my lap-top.

I think that God must have arranged the weather to accommodate this plan too.  We had actually thought of going to the Holy Land exhibit today but, upon seeing the steady rain and the general all-over grayness of the day,  we changed our minds and chose to “stay home”.  I have to admit there was an internal, silent sigh of gratitude and my eyes went straight to my lap-top.

So here I am, words running from my brain, through my fingers, over the keyboard, and onto the screen.  It just never ceases to amaze me watching and reading the end result of this process.  I hope you, the reader, can share and appreciate the joy that my writing brings to me.  Already there are thoughts running around in my head about the great murder mystery dinner theater we enjoyed on Monday evening.  Then last night we got to experience the incredible Blue Man Group and I have so much to say about that. 

We have been to see the awesome actress Sandra Bullock putting in the performance of a lifetime in Blind Side, and we also visited the quaintly interesting and somewhat Europeanized town of Winter Park. Even our weekly attendance at Mass on Sunday was in the very beautiful and unique “shrine church” of Mary, Queen of the Universe.  But these will all be inspiration  for other postings.  The Muse has been most generous in her gifts again!