Notes from Bali, on Women
I thought manipulation was an unhealthy masculine energy.
Strategic, calculated, moving pieces around a board. It seemed to fit. Masculine energy operates through action and outcome. It shapes circumstances. So manipulation, with all its orchestration, felt like it belonged there.
And feminine energy, by contrast, is honest. Vulnerable. Open. It asks for what it needs directly, trusting that showing up as itself is enough. Manipulation felt like the opposite of that. So masculine by default, right?
But then I reconsidered.
Because toxic femininity isn’t masculine. It isn’t strategic confidence either.
It’s something else entirely.
The “shadow” feminine.
Inspired Action in Art: Where Imagination Becomes Real
INSPIRED ACTION IS THE MOMENT YOU STOP THINKING AND START.
If grounding keeps you rooted and imagination cracks the door open then inspired action is what walks you through it.
It’s not a concept. It’s a moment where thinking stops and your hands start moving.
We’re taught to analyze before we act. Think it through, plan it out, make sure it makes sense first. And that works, until you’re creating. Because in art, the analyzing mind and the making hand are often at war. What looks like “just acting on a feeling” is usually something that has been brewing quietly for a long time. Inspired action isn’t impulsive. It’s responsive. It comes from clarity, not from chaos.
Imagination: Where Illusion and Reality Meet
After reflecting on grounding in art, the moment when the brush touches reality… it’s time to write about the other force that drives creation: IMAGINATION.
Artists live between two worlds. One is the physical world of materials, tools, and technique. The other is the inner world, where images, possibilities, and ideas appear before they exist. Imagination is what allows an artist to see something that is not yet there.
Without imagination, art would only copy reality.
But imagination is different from delusion.
A Quick Getaway to El Nido, Palawan: Sunsets, Coffee, Beaches, and Creative Inspiration
Last year, I lived in El Nido for six months without ever feeling the desire to fly out or leave the island. I didn’t need a long-term or work visa to say I was living there, and I never had to do visa runs because I wasn’t a tourist, the island is in my own country.
Recently, though, I only went back for a quick getaway. I usually consider any trip between two weeks and one month a “vacation,” so this one definitely qualifies as a quick escape. I also had a few things to sort out while I was there.
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