When Everything’s Falling Apart
Why Leaning Into Creativity Might Be the Most Powerful Thing You Can Do
When life unravels, when grief is raw, when uncertainty weighs heavy, or when you feel like you’ve forgotten who you are, creativity might be the last thing you think of reaching for. It can seem indulgent, unimportant, even pointless in the face of “real” problems.
But what if I told you that choosing to create in the middle of your mess is not a luxury, it’s a lifeline?
What if creativity isn’t just about painting pretty pictures or writing inspiring words… but a sacred act of remembering, reclaiming, and rebuilding from the inside out?
Creativity is a bridge back to yourself
When the world outside feels chaotic, creativity can become the quiet ground beneath your feet. It offers something that external advice, productivity hacks, and to-do lists can’t: a direct connection to your inner voice.
Even if it’s just five minutes of colour on a page or scribbling down a ramble of words, emotions, and swirling thoughts that make no sense yet. Leaning into these small moments of expression is an act of self-respect. It says: Even now, especially now, I matter. My inner world is worth tending to.
And this is powerful, because when everything else feels uncertain or out of your control, showing up creatively, even in small, gentle ways, reminds you that there is still something within you that is whole, steady, and alive. And in this way, creativity can become a compass steering you back on course.
Creativity becomes a bridge between the part of you that is struggling and the part of you that is still wise, resilient, and deeply grounded, even if you can’t feel her clearly right now. That bridge allows you to access not just relief, but a kind of soulful clarity that no one else can give you.
It’s not about fixing, it’s about feeling
We often try to solve emotional pain with logic or distract ourselves from discomfort with busyness. But your soul doesn’t want fixing, it wants witnessing. It wants space to feel. Creative expression is a perfect vehicle for this; it allows emotion to move without needing words, permission, or explanation. It turns pain into paint. Fear into rhythm. Confusion into colour.
It helps the body speak what the mind can’t yet process, and that is profoundly healing.
In a world that often asks us to be polished and productive, creativity invites us to be raw, real, and present. It says, “You don’t have to have it all figured out, just bring what’s true.”
The gift of this is subtle but sacred: as you create, you begin to feel your feelings instead of fearing them. You meet yourself with compassion instead of criticism. You learn that emotions are energy that wants to move, and creativity gives them a place to land.
Creative rituals create inner safety
It’s not just about making something beautiful. It’s about what happens inside you when you sit down to create.
The ritual of showing up with gentle intention, again and again, becomes an anchor. It tells your nervous system: this is a safe space. It tells your heart: I’m listening. It tells your spirit: I haven’t forgotten you.
And over time, this practice builds something powerful, not just emotional release, but inner safety, spiritual strength, and deep self-trust.
Creating your own personal soul-nourishing creative rituals that support you in this season is the key. It doesn't have to be grand or complicated. Committing to a weekly practice, for at least an hour, is generally all that’s needed. And over time, showing up for this routine soul care will deliver big shifts.
What's specifically inside your spiritual and creative practice is up to you. Following some structure and guidelines can be super helpful, as I teach in the Creative Soul Rituals system within my Soul-Led Creative Framework.
However, the specific creative activities you pursue should light you up, keep you curious, excited, and ready to play. Pushing you out of your creative comfort zone from time to time and ultimately facilitating a deep conversation with your soul, without you even realising.
These creative rituals become more than just practice, they become proof that expressing what lives inside you is necessary, important and immensely freeing. You start to feel safe within your own being, even when the world outside feels unpredictable.
And from that place of safety, you begin to move differently. You make clearer decisions. You trust your timing. You create not from urgency, but from alignment.
You don’t need to feel ready, you just need to begin
There is no perfect moment. In fact, the messiest moments often carry the deepest creative gold.
You don’t need a grand vision. You don’t need to know where it’s leading. All you need is a willingness to pick up the pen, the brush, or your voice, and let it speak, unpolished and true.
This isn’t about becoming an artist. This is about becoming more you.
Because the truth is, your creativity doesn’t disappear in hard times, it hides, quietly waiting for your permission to emerge. Often, that creative spark is your soul’s way of leading you through the dark. I know this was true for me. My spiritual creative practice took on new meaning and new importance as I realised it was my rock, as I navigated the breakdown of my marriage. It made no logical sense that when my life was falling apart, I should sit and paint instead of planning, packing and preparing for my next chapter. And yet that's exactly what I did, and it saved me. Now, in reflection, I can clearly see that softening into my painting practice helped me gather inner strength and find my power, which helped me take the brave, bold actions my soul had been craving for years.
Starting doesn’t have to be dramatic. You can begin in silence. You can begin messy. You can begin exhausted, confused, heartbroken. The important thing is, if you hear the whisper, if you feel the call, just begin.
The most empowered step forward? Meeting yourself here.
Choosing to lean into creativity in hard times doesn’t magically fix your life, but it does shift how you move through it.
It reconnects you to your essence. It reminds you that you’re not broken, you’re becoming, evolving. It gives you something solid inside when everything else is uncertain.
It builds a quiet kind of confidence, not a confidence that performs, but the kind that comes from knowing you can hold yourself through anything.
This is how you build real inner strength: not by doing more, but by creating from within. This is how you rebuild your sense of self: not through perfection, but through presence. This is how you move forward: not with force, but with faith in your own evolution.
A gentle invitation to reflect:
If you’re in a season that feels heavy, overwhelming, or unclear, I invite you to try this: Create not because everything is okay, but because it’s not. Create not to perform, but to process. Create not to escape, but to come home to yourself.
Because sometimes the bravest thing you can do is put your hand on your heart, pick up a pen or a paintbrush and begin.
What emotions or truths have you been holding in that want to move through you creatively?
What might shift if you gave yourself permission to create without needing it to be useful or beautiful?
What kind of creative ritual could support you this week, even for just ten minutes?
Your creativity is not here to impress, it’s here to help you remember who you are. Let it lead you home.
Take care, Sam x
P.S. if you enjoyed this article, please make sure to check out my podcast - Soul-led Creative Women
A podcast for heart-centred, creative women who are ready to reclaim their spark and live with deeper meaning, authenticity, and soul.
Each episode is an invitation to uncover the spiritual power of creativity to heal, nurture, empower, and transform. Through honest stories, soulful conversations, and inspiring tools, we’ll explore how art-making and spiritual practices can help you reconnect to your truth and live more expansively.
Your creativity isn’t a luxury, it’s your way back to yourself. Let’s explore how together.