Golden Rule #16: Feed Your Muse.

I love this one. I really do.

What in the world is a muse?

Put very simply, it is a source of inspiration. Some call it a guiding genius. You can have more than one muse. (Note: the title of this rule is not choose your muse. That’s another lesson for another time.)

In life, in the myriad of things you do because you have to, or because no one else will, or because you just want to keep the peace, there are a few things that speak to your soul. You know what they are. And what speaks to you might not mean a thing to the person right next to you. It’s okay. We don’t all have to share a single muse.

But know this: you do have a muse, whether you know it or not. It might be a person, or a place, or an event. It might be more than one thing. It might be a line in a movie, or a reassuring pat on the back from someone you love and trust. It might be the thing that grounds you when your circumstances are uncertain. And it can change.

Feed it. Nurture it. Listen to it. Give it a voice. Give its voice volume over all the negative notions swirling around you. Read it, again and again. Listen to it like a favorite piece of music. Keep it close by, where you’ll see it often and be reminded of its place in your life.

My muse? Usually something in nature. The woods. The water. The sky. The certainty that there are things bigger than me, and things smaller than me, and they all have their place and function. To listen to my muse, I step outside myself and the ruts of my thoughts.

Does Copper have a muse? I think perhaps he is mine. There is wisdom in his eyes, his demeanor, and his truthfulness. Copper can’t be fake. He just can’t. He’s true to himself, and to me. He doesn’t mask his feelings. He is absolutely authentic in every way, and sometimes I trust him and his perceptions more than I trust my own.