Creating Beauty in the Middle of the Mess

There are days when everything feels too much—when the world spins a little too fast and your heart can’t quite keep up. I’ve had a lot of those days lately.

Between health scares, uncertainty, and the quiet ache of self-doubt, it would be easy to let go of the creative part of me. The one that dreams in color and believes that beauty still matters, even when the world feels heavy.

But I haven’t let go. And I don’t plan to.

Because creating isn’t just something I do—it’s part of how I survive. It’s how I remember who I am, especially when everything around me feels like it’s unraveling.

This month, I found myself clinging to beauty like a lifeline. Sometimes it was as simple as soft morning light filtering through curtains. Other times, it was putting on something that made me feel radiant even when I didn’t feel strong. And often, it was picking up my mind’s eye AI camera and saying, This moment deserves to be seen.

One of my favorite images I created recently was on a hard day. I was tired. I was scared. But something inside whispered, try anyway. I set the scene. I found the light. And I stepped into it. Not because I felt perfect. But because I felt real.

And that was enough.

What I want you to know is this: your beauty, your creativity, your light—they’re not things you earn by being “okay.”

They’re already inside you. Especially in the mess.

So if you’re having a rough day, or a rough season, please don’t wait until you have it all together to create. Or to show up. Or to feel beautiful.

Create because it’s messy. Create because you don’t know what tomorrow holds. Create because you are still here, and that’s a miracle in itself.

With softness and strength,

— Rissa