Liberatory Imagination with Tiffany

I’ve been on an energy high in the past two weeks, and it has peaked. It’s coming down! I’ve sent 3 too many texts in the recent days that says “I’m drowning.” I’m realizing how dramatic I sound, and I promise it’s actually not that dire. It mostly feels like the energy of feeling so driven and focused has taken a turn into a long list of things to do mixed with anxiety. So many texts I haven’t re...

As I’m diving back into direct action world for Palestine recently, I’ve heard myself say this phrase multiple times in the past few days: don’t glorify direct action. Don’t get me wrong - it is beautiful! We love to see it and I love to be part of it. AND it’s not more important or more impactful than other roles of liberation. It is just as needed as any other role. I think, especially as a Leo,...

Today I feel anxiety in my body. I can’t place my finger on any one thing, because it’s probably a combination of many many MANY things. I usually feel confidence in my decisions, but today not so much. My role in society seems to feel elusive. Things feel very floaty. If you’re also feeling anxious, read or listen to this: Wherever you are, I invite you to find a comfy position Take your time in...

My body tells me when I’m doing something as an obligation, and it shows up as tension - most often around my collarbones. Last week my therapist asked if I was doing so much recently out of obligation. I very confidently replied no. I’m not saying everything I do is out of pure good will, but obligation isn’t in there. This round, I’m led by the feeling of having the honor of xyz. I volunteer to...

Especially over the past 5 years, I’ve spent a lot of energy on thinking and developing my personal integrity. What roots it? How can I tell when I’m tapped into it? When do I stray from it? How do I come back to it? When I say “personal integrity,” it’s less of a list of good/bad or moral/immoral. Of course there’s a baseline of integrity that I think that most of us can agree to. What I’m more r...

Sometimes my inability to give a f**k and feeling so little about things that aren’t that important to me really comes in handy. Yesterday, I wrote about capacity, and one of the questions that determines it is “How much am I processing from social media? What kind of comments am I getting?” Let me add to it: How many people are in my DM’s with hateful messages? How many Zionists are leaving me th...

I use the term “capacity” all the time. Everyone in my trauma informed world does. But what does it mean to me when I say it? I’m not 100% sure - so let’s do another round of Virgo-ness! When I say it, I’m focusing in on listening to my body first: Where does the center of gravity settle in my body? Does it even exist in that moment? How fast or slow is my energy going? What needs are unmet that m...

I’ve probably spent most of my posts writing about how I’m losing it and I’m not ok. Today, I actually feel ok. And like a true virgo rising, let’s dissect it. Tiffany’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Possible reasons why I feel ok today: * It’s been warm and sunny * I’ve been feeling so deeply into...

I’ve been sitting here for awhile - there’s so much on my heart and SO MUCH in my mind. No idea where to begin. One thing on the surface is how shitty it is to have to work with humans to liberate humans. There is no way to escape the messiness of being in contact with other humans. Something that comes up all the time is how anti-blackness is the first way that harm will show up in any group. It...

For the longest time in my painting journey, I was obsessed with desert colors. Deep oranges, mustard yellows, muted pinks, warm browns. For many years, that color palette felt right…it felt like the colors were inviting me to look back and challenge assumptions. Then, came 2020. Everything was flipped on its head. I was ending my saturn return and we all know what 2020 called in. With that collec...

From We Do This ‘til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba - in a chapter written by Kelly Hayes: When you say, “What would we do without prisons?” what you are really saying is: “what would we do without civil death, exploitation, and state-sanctioned violence?” That is an old question and the answer remains the same: whatever it takes to build a society that does not continuously rearrange the trappings of...

When people ask how I am, it’s usually something like… I’m ok but not really but you know . If I’m at all tapped into reality, there’s no way I’m ok. Every day feels like a struggle, but on the outside, I’m fine. I am the QUEEN of not showing how in shambles I am - I’m pointing to my capricorn moon. Tiffany’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, con...

I set out this year with three intentions: Dream delusional big Receive Abundance Flow in Yin I start almost every morning with my morning routine, which consists of coffee, journaling, reading, and meditative movement. When I was journaling today, I couldn’t remember the three intentions of the year. I had to find my previous journal to reference. And I rewrote it in my current journal to see how...

First, I want to state that I immediately want to qualify this post to convince you that I’m down to earth, humble, and flawed. BUT WHY? As a femme of color, that conditioning is so strong. I know for a fact that white men do not think like this! So instead of using this first paragraph to not seem arrogant, I’m going to jump straight into it. There’s this great quote from Prentis Hemphill from Ho...

I wish children didn’t die. I wish they would be temporarily elevated to the skies until the war ends. Then they would return home safe, and when their parents would ask them: "where were you?", they would say: "we were playing in the clouds." Palestinian poet, Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972) This morning, I sat down to do my weekly practice of creating art prompted by Liberatory Imagination and this...

As an Asian femme, it has been my prerogative to assert myself as confident, outspoken, and unafraid. The funny part is that alot of Asian Americans also feel the same - so we are our own subset of a cliche. But I don’t care! I will NOT be seen as a docile submissive girl. An adjacent fear of mine is to fall into the category of fragile and privileged liberal who doesn’t actually do anything for c...

Currently, I feel that depressive cloud over me (very much heavy my eyes) and my neck and shoulders really hurt. I feel this guilt for not being at the downtown Palestine protest today - I couldn’t get myself there. It felt like a big no from my body and my head said we should go…because it would give me spiritual energy. The dissonance is real. I’m not going to go into all the rational ways I sho...

My brain knows change is constant and inevitable whether it is the state of my mind/body or our society. Everything is in flux at all times. Seasons are always in movement. My brain knows what emergent strategy teaches about cultural and systemic change. I know! My body feels scared that things won’t change fast enough and I will be stuck in a state of freeze forever. The people in Palestine, DRC,...

I’m seething with rage and eyes brimmed with angry tears. I have had already 16 ups and downs since I’ve woke up to the news of the Aid Truck (or Flour) Massacre in Palestine where more than 103 Palestinians were murdered and 700 were injured. They were waiting for bags of flour while so many Palestinians were dying (and have died) from starvation!! The IOF open fired on the crowd when the aid tru...

My niche has become clear over the past decade, and it is the intersection of creativity and liberation. Every time I check in with myself if it still rings true, I feel it deep in my gut with a resounding YES YES YES. I can talk about it every day. I interact with it every day in my own personal life. And I can see myself growing older with it. Tiffany’s Substack is a reader-supported publication...

I’m a Leo, and I don’t like to admit that I’m scared. In fact, a lot of situations that are traditionally scary to people like public speaking and saying something aggressive to a complete stranger is invigorating to me. I love a challenge and to prove people wrong! But dreaming of a world that is so unlike the one we know now sometimes makes me want to piss my pants and cry for eternity. To dream...

I like to punish people - I like to shame people…who I deem as harmful. I admit it! And I more than like it, I delight in it. (For those who aren’t familiar with abolition, it is the belief set that policing and prisons are fundamentally based on white supremacy - and therefore should be abolished. The haha part of what I just stated above is that abolition fundamentally is against punishment and...

Lessons from the Water She says listen to the moon To the reflection and the pull To the puddles of gravity That calls your real name She says to flow with her But I thought flow happens In serene and still waters She humbles me She says to feel is to feel The depth of loss and Length of fear that Will ease into release Ease into the lift of laughter She says constant as I am I am free from your c...

I took one month away in Mexico to recover and refocus. I feel so grateful to have had that as an option and also I still feel pangs of guilt for not being present in so called Chicago. Taking a deep breath to extend space for both of those things. To set the context for the reason I took the time away: my bff and I decided to do this before we both quit our full time jobs. It’s always something w...