My Muse Visits Me In a Distant Island in the Sun

Love Story 2
by Anna Razumovskaya

This is the story about how my muse visited me again on a small African island in the sun called Mauritius. For almost a month, I stayed by myself in Mauritius, which is over 11,250 miles (18,000 kilometers) away. The only place further from Los Angeles is Reunion Island by less than 20 miles. I never even heard about Mauritius, until I had to leave South Africa and saw it as an option.

On the other side of the world, I met Hari, my studio owner of a place called Allamanda. He was very kind and rented me a place for a good price by the beach. It had a kitchen; so that was good.

However, one of the problems about coming to Mauritius in May and June was that there were very few tourists, because it was winter, meaning it was low season. and although the weather wasn't icy cold, there were days that felt nasty with hard blowing wind and rain. On days like that, I felt like I was on a Scottish Isle or an island off the coast of Maine in winter.

One of the first things I wanted to do on the island is get something off my chest. Well, I had $50-$70 stolen from me in South Africa. Not only that. I had put the whole case together by investigating the facts. And I was upset that the police wouldn't investigate. So, I thought about how to get this case published in the South African newspapers. After thinking it through, I drafted up an OpEd and wrote it. It was immediately accepted, revised, and published, and then reprinted in the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban.

I was excited. My first opinion was published, and it did quite well. I was invited back to write another one.

At some point, it was clear that my muse had returned and visited me to inspire me to write a lot and to write well.

What is a muse? It's supposed to be a beautiful, feminine spirit that comes over you and inspires you to continue on with your art. Athletes call this being in the zone. In fact, I heard jazz musicians used to take drugs after an amazing performance to prolong the muse high.

The Greeks and Romans said there were nine muses, but there are probably more. There's one for the bard, the poet, the writer, the musician, and so on. Since I'm a Christian, I believe the muse that takes hold of me is the holiest deity of them all.

Elizabeth Gilbert, famous author, talks about how that her writings are not all from her own skill. She has to call on her muse, and the two work together to create a piece. She even talks about why the audience at a bull fight chant: "Olé! Olé! Olé!"

Apparently, the Muslims in Northern Africa would dance around the fires and call on Allah to invoke them and dance in a way to awe the crowds. They would chant: "Allah! Allah! Allah!"

The Moors then brought the incantation to Spain. Hence, the crowds now shout: "Olé! Olé! Olé!" In doing so, hopefully a spirit controls the matador, and he can awe the crowds with his skilled show.

When my muse takes over, I feel like that my mind enters into a more focused and keen and supernatural state. It's like an overwhelming force comes over me and tells me: "Let us go - you and I - and dance the day and night away. Let us go - you and I - and enjoy the world and the day. Let us go you and I - and eat and drink of love and hope. We'll create and enjoy and impress and show the world what we've been conversing about. Let them enjoy a secret that we've discovered."

Then, I have abundant energy, and the writing just comes naturally. Apparently, artists live to have the muse experience. They like that powerful amount of energy that comes with it. For me - it's almost as if I have to finish the piece, because I believe what I have to say is important to show the world. And that belief fuels me.

Stephen King, in his book On Writing, talks about how to invoke the muse. He says that a writer must work hard and be disciplined and write and write, and then she will come knocking on your door and come in and inspire you. I find that's been true for me too.

I would say this is my third muse experience. The first time it happened was in Los Angeles of June of 2012, while studying for the bar. Then, she taught me how to see the world clearly. The second time it happened was in Cabo Mexico, sometime between 2015. In that experience, I learned to write about mysteries in this world that were still unseen. In this experience, I feel like my muse taught me how to talk with the world.

It really is a divine experience. Sometimes though, I have to quit writing around 6PM; otherwise, it's like drinking coffee at night and I won't have a good sleep. And I need the energy to write for the next day.

I'm sure Mauritius also played a role in lending me creative energy. I loved Mauritius. It wasn't my favorite tropical place, in terms of the crowds or the beach or the energy. In fact, some days, had really nasty weather.

But I have to say - I loved the French and Indian and Chinese food. Fantastic. And I think something about the French influence helped my writing there.

All in all, in the month I was there, I wrote four pieces. Three were published. The one I cared most about, no American outlet took. But 3 of 4 isn't bad odds at all.

And when I came back to South Africa, I actually had another opinion published there too - which was the most shared article of the day. Let's hope it gets read in Cape Town, in Parliament to promote change.

Anyways, I'm sharing, so that someone out there can benefit from reading this. May your muse come upon you and inspire you to create and awe.