Why now is the time to make something

For April’s Mortal Musings, we’re exploring how creativity becomes a lifeline in times of uncertainty, and how chaos can be an invitation to make something new.

Welcome to Mortal Musings—our monthly roundup of what’s sparking inspiration, contemplation, and shifts of perspective in the realm of life, death, and impermanence. We hope you enjoy!

Lately, as I prepare to send out this newsletter each week and move forward on other projects, I’ve been thinking about how creativity doesn’t come after we’ve figured everything out, but right in the midst of the chaos.

Case in point, this newsletter was initially scheduled to go out last weekend (hence the “April” in the subheader), but chaos had other plans—the pope died. So I pivoted and wrote about that instead.

Everything we create, everything we love, everything we are, it’s all impermanent. So there’s a strange kind of power in making things without knowing if they’ll matter or endure. This month’s musings are an ode to the messy middle where chaos and creativity collide.

Creating through collapse

Inside by Bo Burnham isn’t just a comedy special; it’s a fever dream of pandemic-era isolation, existential dread, and artistic compulsion. Filmed entirely in one room over the course of a year, Burnham writes, performs, directs, and edits every scene himself, as his mental state visibly unravels. What makes this piece so compelling isn’t just the humor or the musical brilliance. It’s the uncomfortable honesty of watching someone try to make meaning while falling apart. The result is a breakdown and a breakthrough—a perfect artifact of art born from chaos. And nearly four years later, it still resonates because the world didn’t exactly “go back to normal.”

Get to know the part of you that came here to make something!

The Creative Types test is a beautifully designed experience rooted in the science of psychology, created by our very own Carolyn Gregoire. This interactive assessment reveals your unique creative orientation: how you think, solve problems, collaborate, and express your vision.

In uncertain times, one of the most powerful things you can do is remember who you are and what you’re here to create. This test won’t predict your fate, but it might name something true you’ve always felt, and offer a path from insight to action. I got The Luminary. What’s your type?

It’s not about being good at something. It’s about being alive.

In a world obsessed with end results, The Artist’s Way is a rebellion: a 12-week creative recovery program that invites you to begin again—not with a plan, but with a ritual. First published in 1992, Julia Cameron’s book has become something of a sacred text among artists, seekers, and blocked creatives alike, reframing creativity as a spiritual path rather than a performance.

More than four million copies later, the book continues to change lives, including that of breakout music artist Doechii. Her raw, unfiltered weekly vlogs document the courage it takes to create without a roadmap and to trust the process without knowing the outcome. They are a reminder that true creativity isn’t about control but surrender.

When dying becomes the medium

Blackstar by David Bowie is a final scream across the cosmos. Bowie made this avant-garde, jazz-laced record while dying of cancer, knowing it would be his last. It’s experimental, cryptic, and entirely fearless. Art not just in the face of death, but in collaboration with it. A parting gift from an artist who turned even dying into a creative act.

Tap into your inner chaos goblin

Jackson Pollock didn’t paint what he knew—he painted to find out. No. 5, 1948 is one of his most iconic drip paintings: tangled, wild, alive.

When I was a kid, my parents let us paint the inside of an old shed in our backyard. My sister, our friends, and I threw paint at the walls like maniacs. It wasn’t about making something pretty—it was about feeling alive. That shed looked totally insane, and it was glorious. We all have an inner Pollock that just wants to feel free again, so maybe this weekend, throw some paint.

The shed in question

Rediscovering magic after loss

“We live in a culture that says you should be able to power through anything,” says Elizabeth Gilbert. “Life will very generously remind you that you cannot.”

In this soul-nourishing conversation on The Tim Ferriss Show, bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert discusses creativity not as a hustle or output but as a sacred path that unfolds through grief, intuition, awe, and deep self-trust.

What’s been inspiring you lately?

In a world unraveling, creating anything at all is an act of resistance and remembrance. Resistance to numbness. Remembrance that we are alive. Let this be your invitation to create something and start before you’re ready. Let it be weird, messy, and unfinished. Let it be yours.

If something in this roundup resonated, sparked a memory, a feeling, or a creative urge, I’d love to hear about it! Comment below, reply to this email, or share it with someone who’s expressed feeling creative or chaotic right now.

—Maura