Stormy Weather.

Hey. Looks to me like you're getting soaked out there.

You know you can come inside any time, right?

And therein lies the problem: translating awareness into action. It's easier to hold tight and hope for clear skies. The longer you wait, the easier waiting becomes, until the day when waiting is all you know how to do.

You got stuck out in the rain one step at a time. Quit thinking about retrieving safety in giant leaps. Go back to the tried and true method that you misused. Give yourself permission to take a step or two towards a place that's dry and warm instead. Keep at it.  That's what will make it into a habit.

One day you'll look up and realize you reached the sunshine all by yourself.

Here I Go.

Confidence. Does anybody have that stuff bottled?

Who's to say they'd sell it to you, if they did.

You have to go get it for yourself.

I've learned an interesting tidbit about the world, though. It's a little fact with a great right hook. Here it comes. We're all born to fall for good eventually. We come equipped with the bounce to get back up as well. It's the force that keeps us loving when there seems to be no point to living. The bounce gives you the power to make a reason for living all by yourself.

If you've got that bounce in spades, bless your little pointed head, but if that bounce is hard to find, as it sometimes is for all of us, keep on trying anyway.

Fake it until you can make it. Don't let your opponent fool you into believing anything less. Everyone is going to fall in the end. Get in there and swing like fury. You can get back up, so go.

Swing.

And Now, a Message from your Muse.

Hey. We need to talk.

I'm a little concerned. Peeved, actually. You may have noticed that, since I've been stingy with you lately. I bet you'd like to know why. Yes? Well then, sit back and listen.

See, you've forgotten a few things. For instance: you're a conduit. You don't own me. We have a relationship. When you abuse that relationship, you get yourself into trouble. Do you need me to remind you what's considered abuse?

Laziness. Don't take me for granted, babe. I'm not your palace eunuch. You don't grow your skills by sitting on your butt. Cholesterol clogs your arteries. Complacency clogs the conduit. That's you, remember? I'll still be here when you get around to improving yourself. Chances are we'll get along even better. It's up to you to get the ball rolling.

Self-abuse. No, not that kind of self-abuse. The other kind. The “I totally suck so what's the point” kind. I can't come through if you close the pipe at your end. Being capable of self-analysis is one thing, but dude! Ix-nay on the agellelation-flay. (Also, it gets tedious after a while.)

Arrogance. Think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread? Go stop a train with your tongue if you want people to treat you like a God. Until then, shut the hell up. Nobody gets to dictate what the world thinks of them, or what legacy they'll leave behind. Drop the facade and just be the conduit. Let your work speak for you, not your ego. Too much ego makes the muse fickle.

Being scatterbrained. Focus, my precious. One thing at a time. Too much pressure does the same thing as all the other abuses, it closes the pipe. Get good at one thing and then move on to the next. People, bushes, seashells, water, whatever it is, take one thing at a time and get good at that before moving on. Everything else will wait until you're open for a new challenge. Laziness and too much expectation give you the same results in the end.

Hyperfocus. As arrogance is to self-abuse, getting obsessive is to being scatterbrained. I can't stop you from drawing anime girls constantly, no, but when you finally bother to blink and look around you'll find yourself in a nice little cage, one you made all by yourself, and the real world will be somewhere very very very very very far away. Good luck with that.

It is a human gift, being able to open yourself to the muse. You've done some amazing stuff when I was there and you weren't. Confused? You shouldn't be. Next time you wake up after having sketched away four hours of your life, go run into the bathroom and take a gander in the mirror. You just might catch a glimpse of me.

Remember this. The better you treat yourself, the better we'll get along. The more respect you show your gifts, the more those gifts will reward you.

Remember that the gift you have is something bigger than you.

That's what will keep me around.