One morning on my way to the café for coffee and morning pages, I passed a little girl in a sparkling tutu with her mother. She looked up at the waning moon, skipped a step, and shouted with delight:
“The Moon is still out!”
I smiled. I was that girl once, wide-eyed, thrilled, looking up at the sky in wonder.
For as long as I can remember, from being a young girl to the woman I am now, I’ve never stopped marvelling at the night sky. I was following a thread that stretches back through Sumeria, Babylonia, Greece, and Rome, through centuries of story, symbol, and meaning. That thread became a rhythm. The sky became my map. And, in time, I found my way to my place in the world.
This is part of what it means to be your own muse.
What Does Be Your Own Muse Really Mean?
Traditionally, a muse was imagined as someone outside of us, the mythic sisters of Greek lore who inspired poets, musicians, and artists. They were external sparks, hovering beyond reach.
But to be your own muse flips the story. It means recognising that inspiration is not something you wait for or borrow from others. It is already alive within you.
To be your own muse is to:
- Inspire yourself first. You do not wait for permission or validation. Your ideas and creativity matter because you say they do.
- Draw wisdom from your cycles. Like Inanna’s descent into the underworld, your own seasons of letting go and renewal hold their own guidance.
- Write your own story. Instead of being cast as someone else’s muse, you take your place as the author, creator, and wayfinder of your own life.
And this is how you find your way in the world. Not by tracing someone else’s map, but by being the source of your own.
Looking Up. Looking In.
For me, being my own muse is a practice of paying attention. Looking up at the night sky and looking within myself both guide me. They keep me present, wise, and discerning about where my attention belongs.
Even with light pollution dimming the heavens, I still catch sight of Venus, the shifting moon, and, if I squint, distant ancient objects pulsing. They remind me to live from wonder. Looking within reminds me to live from rhythm. Together, they anchor me to my life in the here and now.
This is not about bypassing or waiting for the right time. It is not about hustling either. It is about rhythm, the cycles and reminders to live with intention rather than drift. To make sense of the world in volatile times, and to keep finding your way through.
Be Your Own Muse. Find Your Way in the World.
At GlobalWoman, these two belong together.
When you are your own muse, you stop waiting to be chosen, noticed, or named. You draw from the rhythm of your own life, and you lead yourself forward. When you live this way, you do not just move through the world. You find your way in the world.
And in that luminous path, you discover something radical. You are not only the traveller. You are also the compass, the map, and the spark.
Your turn: What would shift if you decided today to be your own muse and, in doing so, to find your way in the world?
