Happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet flows speech from his lips.”
– Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollo
There was once a man who wrestled with God.
And won.
His name was Jacob, which means “deceiver” (this is important). One night, alone in the desert, Jacob stumbled upon a man who engaged him in a fistfight. There’s no context as to why this fight started – all we know is Jacob had no choice but to fight for his life.
They wrestled until daybreak. When the man saw that the sun was rising and Jacob still refused to give up, he reached out and touched Jacob’s hip. Immediately, the hip was wrenched out of its socket. But Jacob persisted.
“I won’t let you go until you bless me!” he demanded (I imagine there was some sort of headlock situation here? The Bible is wonderful at suspense). Strangely, the man did. He blessed Jacob, and then he said this:
“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God…and have overcome.”
For now, let’s put the confusing theology of this story aside and focus on the details.
Not only did Israel walk with a limp for the rest of his life, but his name was changed from “deceiver” to “he who struggles with God.” From that moment on, his identity was defined in juxtaposition to this encounter. No longer Jacob, but Israel.
These details are strange, beautiful, baffling…and if we peel back another layer of the narrative, we see these details paint a visceral allusion to the creative process.
Israel’s story flows like this –
Randomness
Grittiness
Divinity
Transformation
– and so does that of a creator, writer, poet, musician, etc.
It’s a parallel to wrestling the muse.
A brief history of the muse
In ancient Greek mythology, there were nine muses.
Between them, they were experts in poetry, romance, music, astronomy, theater, dance, comedy, tragedy, history, science, and math. So, basically everything. When an artist or creator (like Homer or Hesiod) “invoked a muse”, they did so in hopes that one of the muses would hear their cry for creative genius and whisper divine incantations of inspiration in their ear.
But today, the myth of the muse is far more elusive.
Is it a person? A place? A spiritual reckoning? Total bullshit? We obviously don’t believe ancient Greek mythology is reality…but the point of a myth is to capture larger patterns of being. It may not be “reality” as we know it – like the plant on my desk, or the chair that I’m sitting on – but it very well may be true.
A head-nod towards divine inspiration
Why do I want to write books?
Out of everything I could be doing in the world (accounting, real-estate, a ringmaster in the circus) why books?
Maybe I’m a relatively right-brained individual. Maybe it’s because I was a bookworm as a kid. Maybe I’m a big fan of the Oxford Comma. But we cannot rule out that perhaps it is the literal handprint of God on my soul calling me towards a higher purpose, transcending all logic and reason.
I’m fascinated at how we tend to naturally be good at what we’re most passionate about. How songwriters are struck by a muse that a poet will never cross paths with. How no one needed to convince Ed Sheeran to try his hand at music; it just poured out of him. I’m sure computer scientists are struck by their own muse as well, although I’m a stranger in a strange land here.
My point is that the through-line of any beautiful, meaningful thing is that we struggle to explain it, to put our finger on the pulse of what’s happening. Think of the stunning architecture of Paris; of novels that resonate so deeply that they change the way you live; of music so beautiful that it makes you weep.
I believe the muse is very much alive, existing as the divine exhale of God that descends upon us and gives purpose and clarity to our work that we would otherwise not find within ourselves.
A thought experiment
Imagine you’re a writer (since you’re reading this, chances are high that you actually are).
Now, imagine you’re like Jacob, trekking through the desert on your creative journey, when you suddenly get jumped. Is it God (divine inspiration)? Or just a random dude in the desert (a sudden, intrusive idea that hits while you’re in the grocery store)?
You won’t know unless you fight it – so you do. You pour everything you’ve got into writing your novel for hours, days, years, before it begins to take shape. And finally, after grappling and bleeding into the sand, your hip magically pops out of its socket. A breakthrough.
Turns out, you’ve been wrestling with God this whole time. And it will change the way you write forever. Because now, you know the blessings that follow when you engage the muse.
Remember the flow of Israel’s story?
Randomness
Grittiness
Divinity
Transformation
Writing is like stumbling upon God in the desert.
Some days, it won’t be God. It will be a random dude who beats the crap out of you; a total creative dead-end.
But as Jack London so eloquently reminds us, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
So, you stay gritty. You keep writing. And when the muse descends; when God breathes over you; when your hip finally pops out of its socket; the divinity of it all will change you. You become Israel. And you will continue to venture out into the desert, over and over, fighting random dudes just to get to God, because some things are worth bleeding for.
What do you think? Do you wrestle with the muse? I’m curious to hear your thoughts/ feedback/criticism/personal experience. Comment and let me know. :)
Thanks for reading The G Word, friend! See you next Saturday.
G
This is phenomenal.
Tried to send you a message on Twitter but it wouldn't let me so I'll share it here: stumbled upon your writing there, it's fantastic, I want to write like you when I grow up.
Thanks for sharing your work!
I am 100% in this camp. "But we cannot rule out that perhaps it is the literal handprint of God on my soul calling me towards a higher purpose, transcending all logic and reason. I’m fascinated at how we tend to naturally be good at what we’re most passionate about." In fact, not only can we not rule this out, I actually think it's the operative frame far more than we think. God, what would the world be like if more people trusted this was so and had the courage to act upon it? That's a world I'd like to see and contribute to its existence.