Are you Afraid to Go Into the Woods?
Contributor

"Into the woods,/ It's time to go,/ I hate to leave,/ I have to, though./ Into the woods--/ It's time and so/ I must begin my journey."  Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods

 

When I was little, my family lived in the country and on weekend afternoons, my father would occasionally lead us on jaunts into the surrounding woods.

Daddy especially liked to take us walking in the spring and fall when the trees weren't in full leaf so sunshine filtered in and you could see further than you would in the middle of summer.

As we walked, Dad would point out the birds, naming them for us.  He'd point out wildflowers, like Devil's Paintbrush and the Dogtooth Violet.

But on all those walks, as he led us deeper and deeper, crossing streams and climbing hills, I never worried about being lost.  Then, after years of walks, I could take my friends on a walk through the woods with a clear sense of where I was and where we were going.

Entering the woods was the theme and metaphor for the keynote speech that Dominic Di Mare, internationally known fiber artist, gave at the 1988 Convergence, an international conference of weavers, spinners, dyers and other textile artists.  I sat spellbound in the audience as Di Mare compared the creative process to a walk in the woods, talking about the fears, the risks, and the courage required to make the journey into the woods of our creativity and back out again.  He quoted lines from the brand new Broadway Musical, "Into the Woods".

"Yes!"  I thought, as he mentioned Red Riding Hood, and the Prince searching for Sleeping Beauty, and all the other characters of fairytale who somehow end up in the woods… Just exactly where I end up each time I set out on a creative journey.  Lost, fearful, unsure of where to go next and how to get home again.

It's the feeling I am experiencing now with my work-in-progress, In the Land of the Vultures.  I know where I want to arrive (home, the happily-ever-after ending), but have lost my sense of direction, not quite sure whether I go past that old oak, or across the stream.

Sometimes, when we get lost, our only choice is to just keep moving forward, slogging along until something looks familiar again.  Sometimes, as in the fairytales, we discover a cute little cottage where we can rest and renew…gaining new energy for the creative project.  Sometimes, helpers come along in the guise of older women or talking animals, i.e. physical and non-physical guides and mentors for our work.

And sometimes we just have to stop moving and either look up to the stars for guidance (oracles, the Sun, those who have successfully walked the path before us) or get silent so we can listen for the sounds that will help to locate us, and the whispers of the Muse.

The advantage to repeated journeys into the woods is that we become more and more familiar with the environment, marking the trees to point the way home again.  Eventually, we can even gain the courage and knowledge to escort others into the woods of their creative journeys.

Yes, I've been in these creative woods before, lost and uncertain.  But I know what to do to find my way home.  I've marked the path and brought my oracular compass with me.  And there are other writers up ahead on the trail that I can hail if I need them.

The woods can be a deep, dark, mysterious and scary place if you are unfamiliar with them.  But, if you are going to create—a book, a poem, a play, or any other creative project—you have to go into the woods.

"So, it's/Into the woods/You go again,/You have to/Every now and then./Into the woods,/No telling when/Be ready for the journey."

(And if you haven't entered the woods for a while, check out my October retreat where you'll get time to write and daydream, learn how to use dreams and other oracles to point your way, and eat and sleep in the magical environment of the Catskills. www.diviningthemuse.com/octoberwritingretreat/

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