Five Vulnerable Things: Vol. 017
on finding true love, unlocking peace, single ingredients, instrumental music and being a not-so-broken record
Hello sweet, soul friend.
I hope this week has met you with all the love, peace, and lessons that you need to be met with. I’m deeply sorry if any of the lessons caused you to suffer. I am here, gently holding infinite space for your heart to heal and to come through to the other side.
This week was a tough one for me. I had a not-so-graceful backslide out of my inherit worth, and yesterday it all came out. I felt so many emotions surface. My week actually started will a deep release of many objects being decluttted from my home. Almost half a room full of objects gone, and released. I’ve been resisting getting rid of stuff for so long, but if I know anything about anything it’s that you must bring awareness to the very thing you are avoiding, and know that peace (not pleasure) is on the other side of that. I say that because I felt a huge soul exhale happen, but I also felt much grief. Letting go of objects is a symbolic way of saying I am no longer the person who owns these things, and that is less about a “detox,” and more about re-shaping identity.
What ended up happening was the removal of the stuff created spaciousness in not only my environment, but my heart. All of a sudden I was faced with so much emotion that I had buried and hoarded away along with my belongings—and they had no where to hide—no nooks or perfectly placed aesthetic bin or wicker basket to be tucked away in. I felt so much anger, sadness, grief, hopelessness, despair and as I tried to ground into productive tasks, I silently slipped into a feeling of unhappiness.
All the desires and dreams that haven’t been met or realized yet seeped out of me like venom. I started to go into self-animosity mode, my old default programming. Bullying myself and saying, you’re not doing enough, you need to do more, what if your business fails? My valentine, my husband, responded, “so what if your business fails? That’s not what makes you important to me.” Sheeshhhhh that is real dirty talk in my book! Seriously, for many lifetimes I have searched for a partner that would fan my fames, and what life taught me through Michael, through his love, is love is peace.
So as we approach my favorite day of the year, Valentine’s Day. Yes, it really is my favorite day of the entire damn year. May we plant more peace in our hearts to feel the echo of true love. A love that is not conditional on what we do or who we become, but a love rooted in simply who dare to be today.
Let’s get into the five vulnerable things…
1. Ask yourself earnestly, what is truly weighing me down?
Take a moment, really…I’ll wait. Deep belly-breathe in, and out. And take two more. Write down a list of your hindrances.
Ask yourself earnestly, what is truly weighing me down?
For me, it’s:
Spiraling into proving myself
Gripping to outcomes when I want to be focused on an intention of service
Chronic dehydration
Chasing the next thing
Over-consuming self-development content
My weight + low prana/life force - leading to chronic illness and inflammation
That’s me just warming up, but the point is to just name the thing that is the source of suffering, and to bring awareness to it. You’d be shocked at how deep the rabbit hole goes. And I guarantee, if you earnestly begin to orchestrate ways to move through them, they will lose much of their power. The biggest problems we face often have the simplest solutions. My ass needs to drink more water, touch grass, and give less fucks.
2. “Today is going to be my peaceful day”
A 108-day walk for peace that started in October 26, 2025 ended this week on February 10, 2026. This monumental 2,300-mile pilgrimage was led by Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra and 24 monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center from Fort Worth, Texas walking to raise awareness for peace and mindfulness. In the world we live in today, we are inundated 24/7 with bad news, violence, injustice and horrific acts of cruelty against humanity, animals and our environment. This mission and walk for peace has been a demonstration that we can move differently. We must not react with more hate, vengeance, with more dysregulation — we must not react at all. Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra lovingly suggest every morning taking a plain piece of paper and pen/pencil and writing “Today is going to be my peaceful day.” This is a vow you can control, and make to yourself, and go out into the world and be of the few that demonstrates how to live with compassion, peace and loving-kindness. We need true-of-heart leaders with this type of mindset to lead us out of the darkness into the light.
3. Single Ingredient Life
I believe that if people mostly ate single ingredient whole foods, stopped wearing synthetic materials, used simple products in their homes, enjoyed natural functional movement, took more walks and focused on basics like sleep and stress management, many more of us would be shining beacons of light and vitality.
— Nadia, Nouri Paris
I am without a doubt a creature of habit and one thing about me is that when I try something, and it makes me feel good, I will not fumble it. Something that has been bringing me peace on my tastebuds and my gut has been focusing on single ingredient meals. Lately, my hyper lunch fixation has been a simple silken tofu recipe that I have had on repeatttt. It’s a humble block of silken tofu ($2-2.50 per box) and a small serving of jasmine rice, and I just drizzle a simple and fresh garlic-chili soy sauce over it, and that’s it. No cooking. It’s made my gut so happy, and really what’s astonishing is that the single ingredient life is for me, and it just makes sense for me on a cognitive level (less cognitive load on your brain to decide what to eat), economic (affordable af), and more beauty. There’s so much beauty in single ingredients, and I love beautiful things.
I know my mother-in-law who reads my newsletter and is a tofu connoisseur (shoutout Andrea Yee!!!) will love this recipe, and you will too.
EASY 5-Minute Silken Tofu Recipe:
📝 Ingredients — serves 1-2
* 1 package silken tofu (straight outta the fridge or poach if desired)
* 2 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
* 1 tablespoon chili oil crisp (tailor to your level of spice! 🌶️)
* 1 teaspoon brown sugar
* 3 cloves garlic minced
* 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
* 2 green onion diced
* 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Instructions
1. Drain and slice (optional) block of silken tofu. Set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients except the cilantro and green onion in a small mixing bowl.
3. Pour over the silken tofu in a shallow bowl or plate with a high rim. Garnish with cilantro and green onions. Enjoy with a small bowl of rice!
4. I only listen to instrumental music 90% of the time now
This one is simple and very much in the same thread as the single ingredient lifestyle, but I have just listened to mainly instrumental music for the last year and it’s exponentially made me more calm, more at peace and made me really absorb music differently—with more care and mindfulness. Mainly, I’m a fan of handpan, mantra music, but my deep devotion goes out to Hans Zimmer — a genius composer of many of your favorite films. His music has softened me and given me so much peace. I’ve listened to The Last Samurai score more than I’ve listened to anything in my entire lifetime and it’s helped me process and make my mind a singular place of true refuge. I understand music and what’s trending or nostalgic can pull at your heart, and if it’s working for you, you do you, boo—but, this side feels too good and juicy not to share.
5. You are not broken.
After releasing the tears I had been hoarding away for the entire week, they burst out of me like a dam.
I need you to hear me when I say, let yourself feel the feelings. No good comes from holding it in or by “being strong.” You only suffer more. Strength and vulnerability looks like feeling the emotion, honoring the part of you that needed that release and that emotion to be fully expressed. Once it’s acknowledged, like a ghost, it can finally cross-over and free you.
After I cried, I looked at my husband and right before I knew he would start telling me the things I need to do to ‘feel better’ I stopped him, and said. “I need you to tell me you love me unconditionally, that I can feel these emotions, that I am not broken, and that it’s going to be okay.” We often mean well by trying to play the role of fixer in people’s lives. And we suggest and prescribe things to those we love out of love, and a sense of deep desire to see them stop suffering or hurting, but the truth is what we need most is acceptance. Not that celebratory acceptance. Just a quiet acceptance. You are not broken. You are inherently worthy. And the fastest way to get someone to suffer less is not to try the fool’s method, try to change them.
They need love, acceptance, and someone to be with. Someone to remind them that this pain too shall pass, and you will love them on that day as much as you do today.
Minutes meditated so far this year: 892 minutes
Catch my newest podcast episode on the 10 rules every true artist must follow on YouTube:
May all beings feel more love and experience less suffering,
Asa