One of my Muses

When I have writer's block, the only thing that really pulls me out of it is reading.  Usually I read poetry, since that's what I'm writing, but another thing that always works?  Anais Nin.  Her language is so beautiful and lyrical that it might as well be poetry.

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If you've never read anything she's written, I'd recommend starting with Henry & June, the famous excerpt from her diaries.  It is the compelling story of her years-long affair with author Henry Miller.  

Here are some Anais Nin quotes that I've grown attached to over the years:

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

"We write to taste life twice: in the moment, and in retrospection."  

"I must be a mermaid . . . I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living."

"I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by losing."

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."  

"I am only responsible for my own heart.  You offered yours up for the smashing, my darling.  Only a fool would give out such a vital organ."

"Anxiety is love's greatest killer."

and for Jessie . . . "Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together."

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Who is your creative muse?