Letter From the Editor: January

You ever have some truly fucked up shit happen but instead of feeling some type of way about it you’re like….LOL ok cool, good to fucking know - and then you instantly feel hella freed and amazing? Like, thanks universe, good looks. So like, it me but honestly, this is the mental state I’m working on cultivating and that I wanna carry all through this new year. Trusting that everything happens as it’s meant to, letting shit go, and remaining as unpressed as possible within the limitations of this human embodiment with all its feelings and needs and triggers and traumas.

My spirit sister recently put me on some game about how while we might be out here channeling energy for higher purposes, there are also those who know how to manipulate energy for….not the greater good, let’s just say. As someone who’s generally openhearted and trusting with people I feel a connection with, this realization has really shaken me to the core. Like, y tho? But now I realize that some people are just fucking selfish. People will paint you the picture they want you to see to get what they want from you. And as we progress on our spiritual journeys and our lights shine ever brighter, we attract those who want access to that pure energy - but who may only have their own selfish interests in mind or who may genuinely not give a fuck about hurting us. An unsettling lesson for sure, but an invaluable one.

A word that I keep channeling is “discernment” and that feels hella accurate but like, hard. How do we continue being vulnerable, how do we continue being sincere and genuine, when most people in this world just aren’t at all on that level? How can we discern between the real and the fake when the fake knows how to disguise itself as the real (and like, really, REALLY well)? As painful and shitty as navigating these sorts of things are, I trust that there’s lessons in all experiences and know that there’s many many more moments of pain on this journey to come that are only gonna level us up even higher. We can’t let betrayals and disappointments make us feel unworthy, unable to receive blessings or run away from the love that others may have to offer us. For me, this is the biggest struggle of all but like, fuck it I’m (tryna be) out here. Struggling, but trying lol.

Thanks for sticking through the sporadic content as I’ve been piecing my world back together and understanding who and what I want Hella Pinay (and myself) to be and stand for. I wish for you all to remain unpressed and unbothered in this new year and know that wherever you are right now is exactly where you need to be (even if it fucking sucks!). Good looks, universe - for real.

<3 Steph

Thumbnail photo by @kulturafilms courtesy of @verojamie