💌 letter 49: practicing discernment, anarchist calisthenics, & Cuba
refusing to obey in advance
week of February 13, 2026
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Hi beautiful human,
Let’s take a collective deep sigh, shall we?
INHALE 1….2….3…..HOLD………….RELEASE…….
I’m listening to Primavera by Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi as I write you this letter. I welcome you to listen to it as you read to deepen your experience. I think it could help you feel my words more affectionately.
How are y’all holding up right now? (please actually comment below and let me know) 🫂
I think I can confidently speak on behalf of all of us by saying that many of us are managing, but conflicted and disturbed—at least those of us who are tapped into the news coming out of the U.S. right now.
Abhorrent is the first word that comes to mind when I think about what we’re witnessing, but even that doesn’t feel like a comprehensive enough word to describe these times.
I have been toggling between wanting to be in the know and also disconnecting from the digital world completely. I don’t think the human brain is equipped to take in all of this, and at the same time, it feels like the very least I can do is to be a witness to the suffering of others and empathize with their lived reality.
Aside from the larger world around me, I have been feeling a lot as it relates to my life. It’s almost as if my internal frequency radar was cranked up and I’m able to pick up on the moods, feelings, and thoughts of others. It has felt extremely intense, but it has also been reinforcing my need to practice discernment. More than ever, this feels like a skill that I (and you) need to expeditiously refine.
During a time where there is a collective felt sense of emotional dysregulation, it feels imperative to know what people and places have the potential to exacerbate unease, or encourage grounding.
It’s also critical to remain committed to moral discernment. In times like this, it feels like everything is supposed to be up for debate, and quite frankly, no.
F*ck that.
Human suffering is not up for debate.
Some people’s politics and worldviews are rooted in disdain for others, and I will never be okay with that.
I want to be surrounded only by empathetic people who are choosing to align themselves with a shared commitment to advance the dignity of life everywhere. I want to be in spaces where people are rooted in soulful meaning, not guided by the opposite.
There’s a lot more I can say about this, but i’ll save it for upcoming ranting sessions with my closest people.
In summary,
Understand that discomfort is a signal for something that you shouldn’t ignore.
Trust your gut. DO NOT let people convince you out of trusting your intuition. Even if that means you’ll be left standing alone.
It’s MORE than okay for people to not like you because you stand firm in your human-centric values. That’s a flex actually.
Be in spaces that leave you feeling more hopeful, not the opposite.
You don’t have to engage in conversations, perspectives, or dynamics that ask you to convince people to be empathetic. People are making clear choices at this point. Instead, lead by example and find the people who are actively trying to make this world better.
I believe in you.
believe in us.
With love always,
Cat, a gal tryin’ her best
✨musings that inspired pause this week✨
curated to motivate, educate, and restore faith in ~the process~
🎧 I was recently interviewed by Reverb & Root’s archive and got a chance to talk about my commitment to ancestral memory work, the book i’m working on next, why I left mexico and lots more. Click here to learn to watch, read, or listen to the interview!
🎶 just discovered the Wassalou genre of music and think I may have just found my new sonic hyper fixation.
❤️ i’m really trying to avoid night time scrolling and being on my phone before bed, so I got this to encourage late night reading instead. isn’t it cute??
🤔 have you heard of the concept of anarchist calisthenics? if not, watch this video to learn about it (take what applies and leave the rest). it’s actually quite fascinating and absolutely something we should all be embracing if we want to ensure we’re on the right side of history.
📖 I interviewed Miami-based Caribbean artist and curator Lauryn Lawrence for this month’s edition of my column Co-Creating the New World in the Dale Zine newspaper. You can pick up a free copy of it at the shop in Miami, or read it by zooming into the pics here!
🎙️as someone who wears Hoka sneakers, it was really cool to learn about how the creators of the sneaker brand were inspired by their personal journeys as athletes to develop a product line that was so disruptive to the industry. tap into this podcast if you’re in need of inspo to just make the damn thing (what that may be).
✨journaling prompts✨
because in today’s world, carving out time for introspection is a must
✨mood✨
✨from the tiktok universe ✨
✨announcements✨
reminders, invites, and announcements
An invitation to join the Awake Book Club
We’re reading How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney through February and March.
This is a book club I launched January 2025. It is a book club dedicated to learning decolonized history and expanding our collective consciousness. If this is something you’d be interested in being a part of, tap in!
Tap into the chapter summaries, our archive, and access book related updates here.
Also, I found this free pdf of the book online!
