Goddesses in the Dust: Tyche, or Daring to Take Creative Risks
An archaeologist unearths the divine feminine, one archetype at a time...
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about taking creative risks.
It's funny how, once you start taking risks in your writing life, the desire to be fearless spills over into the rest of your life.
I have a favorite quote by Mark Twain that I've placed above my desk, where I can see it everyday:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
As I get older, the need to feel like I've got everything under control has abated. Truth is, I never had everything under control - that's just an illusion we comfort ourselves with. While I still value being organized in my work life (it's hard for writers to produce any work if they aren't) it's actually pleasant to get what I can done every day and to not fret over the rest. My former self would be anxious if the house wasn't completely neat and clean; often I've found that being uncomfortable with our surroundings is just a projection of our inner emotional lives. As in the words of the ancient philosopher Hermes Trismegistus,
As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul.
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| Tyche holding the god of wealth Ploutos as a child, 2nd century A.D., Istanbul Archaeological Museum |
Fortune Favors the Bold
Is it possible that - if we take more risks on our own creative behalf - that the universe will reward that risk taking?
If Tyche were here, she would answer with a resounding yes.
