A while back I wrote a sentence in my journal that stunned me and stop me in my tracks. It said:
Who is the woman growing inside of me?
Not “who am I becoming,” but something more layered, more mysterious, more spiritual than the voice I’m used to hearing coming off my journalling pages. It felt like a whisper from another dimension. A part of me asking for attention and a space to bloom.
That’s where this season new season of On Becoming was born.
Season 4 is about midlife and creativity—and all the quiet, electric truths that live between those two words. The small flickers of aliveness that catch us by surprise. The desire to express something, anything, that feels truly like us.
It’s a theme that’s been following me everywhere—into coaching sessions, voice notes with friends, conversations with family, podcast interviews and my current reading choices.
And here’s what I’ve come to realize: we are not just talking about creativity in the “let’s make something” sense. We’re talking about creativity as a way back to ourselves. A way of remembering what makes us feel truly alive.
And maybe even more than that—creativity as a form of leadership. As a form of resistance. As a reclamation of voice, energy, intuition, and agency.
I’ve noticed how often women arrive in midlife with a sense of disorientation. A low hum of dissatisfaction and frustration. Not because anything is wrong, exactly—but because something inside them is going unexpressed. A truth. A story. A yearning. A voice. A new direction.
Suzanne Valadon, La Chambre bleue, 1923 © Centre Pompidou, Mnam-Cci / Dist. GrandPalaisRmn. Painted when she was 57, this bold, unapologetic work is a vivid reminder of why we need the female gaze: to see and celebrate women outside the confines of convention.
And so often, when I sit with them in coaching sessions, when we peel back the layers of perfectionism, performance, and caretaking—we find it. That abandoned creative spark. That idea that never got a chance to be born. That desire that’s been quietly waiting in the wings, hoping we’d eventually come back for her.
I want to say this clearly, because it matters:
Creativity is not a frivolous extra. It’s a life force. It is not reserved for the talented, the trained, or the lucky. It belongs to all of us. Especially women. Especially now.
Creativity is how we metabolize experience. It’s how we move through stuckness, anger, desire and the questions we can’t possibly answer by thinking our way through them. It’s how we break inherited patterns, question the rules, imagine new ways of living and leading and loving.
It’s how we come home to ourselves.
And when it’s been suppressed or silenced? Creativity doesn’t disappear.
As Brené Brown says:
“Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgment, sorrow, and shame.”Yes. That.
And also this—from the inimitable Clarissa Pinkola Estés:
“A woman’s creative ability is her most valuable asset, for it gives outwardly and feeds her inwardly at every level—psychic, spiritual, mental, emotive, and economic.”
Clarissa Pinkola Estés published Women Who Run With the Wolves at 47, a fierce midlife debut forged from decades of writing, listening, and reclaiming women’s stories.
This season is about that value. That nourishment. That asset so many of us have buried, neglected, or feared.
Over the coming season you’ll hear from women who are reimagining what creativity looks like at midlife—not as a job title, but as a relationship to self. We’ll explore creative power through the lenses of neuroscience, storytelling, psychology, design, activism, community, and everyday life.
You’ll also hear solo episodes from me, where I’ll reflect on the blocks that keep us from creating, the fear of being seen, the seductive pull of performance, and how desire, fantasy, and creativity are deeply intertwined.
And, for the first time, we’re going to be gathering outside the podcast in a sort of “Creative Camp” both online and in person, to explore all of this in community. More on that soon.
This week’s episode—the one that opens the season—isn’t a trailer in the traditional sense. It’s a “manifest-sode.” A love letter and reminder to any woman who’s ever felt the urge to make something, change something, or just feel something more. And maybe forgot how.
So, if you’ve been feeling a little off, like you’ve lost touch with your spark, like you’ve been holding a quiet ache to make something, say something, change something… you are not alone. And, my dear, you are not too late.
There is no expiration date on creativity.
There is only this moment, this choice, this invitation to begin again.
Because midlife isn’t a dead end. It’s a turning point.
A new becoming. And, who knows? Maybe your next great masterpiece.
With love,
Zeva
PS. You can find the episode above or on Apple, Spotify, Deezer or on your favorite podcast player.
PPS. I’d love to hear how creativity is showing up in your life right now—or not. Hit reply. Leave a comment. Let’s have the conversation we’ve all been waiting for.
💫 Book a free discovery call with me if this resonates and you’re ready to explore your own creative return.
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