It’s a commonly held notion that the inspiration for creativity comes from tortured souls who create from a dark place of pain, sadness, loss,… but inspiration comes even from happy places infact from the entire spectrum of emotions and experiences, in many shapes forms and sizes some more than others, its hard to pin it down to a specific instance.
Funny story, as I was interacting with a fellow blogger I got introduced to over the WinterABC Festival, Mazibs made the following comment:
“..I wonder how you sound like in real life. Probably like a reggae rugrat, coarse voice from years of pained lyrics…”
Well its hard to say what I sound like you tell me…
Adele without a doubt has the title of heartbreak queen, whenever she goes through a rough patch, you know an album is coming. Locally, we have Kae Chaps who has been crowned the Zimbabwean King of Heartbreak after he captured hearts with some soulful singing during his lockdown session with Juzi and more recently Huchapa.
I once reached out to a fellow blogger who seems to have hung up the proverbial pen because hasn’t posted in oh couple of years, their response was that they write when they are sad and the past couple of years have been bliss so haven’t felt the urge or inspiration to write…
While I wouldn’t say I write because I am in a sad or dark place, I put it to you that my writing quietens the noise in my head, all those unspoken thoughts I am always on verge of saying but never quite get round to it….
When I was researching on writers’ block I came to a conclusion that to understand writer’s block you first have to understand the psychology of a creative individual. Imagine a writer as a therapist; unconsciously self-psychoanalyzing to resolve inner turmoil via the sublime medium of writing….
The world is an ugly place,
And so I paint over the pain,
painting my chains
into what could be,
since what becomes,
always turns out not quite as expected.
Freedom is an illusion
Whether consciously or subconsciously, there is something therapeutic and cathartic about self-expression through creativity… Its also a very intimate process, and sharing with the world is like showing the world a naked selfie of your very soul, so should you catch a glimpse of it, please be kind.
I know folk who have scores of unpublished drafts because the world is not ready to see yet, or they aren’t ready to share with the world.. For the one article you read, many others will never be seen by anyone else except the one who wrote.
This post is for the wordsmiths like me, whom for every word written, a thousand other words are below the surface, like an iceberg, you only see the tip we choose to share, and sometimes what we choose to share can be vastly different from reality.
I could write a love story while nursing heartbreak or even write sad poetry while in the middle of torrid affair and something funny and hilarious when all I want to do is curl up in a ball and be a kid again.
Remember to self-care
~B
Becoming The Muse 
Your thoughts.. if you will?