Wild, untamed energy: a horse is built to roam freely, not to stay stagnant.
009 | Hue's Cues: your weekly dose of inspiration and insights for your brain, mind, body, and soul.
Happy Year of the Horse.
We live on a spinning planet, orbiting a giant ball of energy, suspended in a mysterious universe we have yet to fully understand. Not a new thought, but one worth sitting with.
The sun and the moon are distant yet undeniably relevant. Most of us will never touch, neither see—with our own eyes—either. And yet, they command our seasons, our tides, and perhaps even our internal rhythms.
Celebrating a shift into a new cycle by their movements suddenly feels less like superstition and more like intention. Personally, whether placebo or real, I feel a spark ignite, a noticeable difference between January 1st and today.
According to Chinese astrology, the Horse brings with it wild, untamed energy. This is the year to gallop across the open fields of possibility, and dream big. Movement, action, and meeting moments head-on— a horse is built to dash and roam, but never stagnate.
New places, ideas, and paths—embrace and explore enthusiastically. Less overthinking, more galloping into what life is presenting. Trust your instincts and meet the year with vigor; that’s what the celestial signals are saying.
Autonomy and agency are our greatest currency. But, friends, I realize, it’s not only in how we make decisions or how we think critically, but also in how we choose to see the world: your perspectives, the ideas you interrogate, and the paths you roam—or leap to.
How will you channel this energy for yourself this year?
For a few years, I quit coffee entirely. The research was hard to argue with: caffeine disrupts sleep quality—yes, even that seemingly innocent morning cup. So I stopped, cold turkey. It worked for a few years. But then coffee culture exploded and that alluring, warm, and irresistible smell got me. Friends, I succumbed. No regrets, yet I can feel the consequences. While I am genuinely inspired by a friend who consumes zero caffeine, not even tea. I am realistic about my needs. I am stimulating my brain by extraction. On another friend’s suggestion, I am taking the more realistic solution: caffeine-free weekends. Approachable enough so that my addicted brain can agree to at least try. Key word: try, as I am not always successful.
A colleague once told me about his time working in an urban vertical farm. Tending to indoor crops, he ran a little experiment: he spoke kindly to one side and said nothing to the other. The side he spoke to grew faster and stronger. I can’t verify his clams, but I never forgot his story. It also reminds me of Masaru Emoto’s studies on water crystals, though still considered pseudoscience, the message stuck. There are unseen forces, invisible to our naked eye, that ripple through our states of being, in ways we might never understand. Here’s what I do know: you don’t need a peer-review study to feel the power of nature. But, if even a screensaver of greenery can improve autonomic nervous system regulation, how impactful is a single houseplant? The calm is immediate. It’s visceral—and for me, houseplants in most rooms at home is how I build an environment of rest and recovery for my mind at home.
Growing up playing sports all my life, running was the one activity I found difficult to commit to, unless it was part of the sport or game I was playing. A game of tag is fun, but running a mile was never as enjoyable. Playing touch rugby was my sport of choice, but joining the cross country running team was a dread I ended up never choosing. As an adult, it’s funny how running has become one of my main modes of training my body. Each week, I put my shoes, lose clothes, and shorts on to prepare myself for running. According to one theory, running is what helped our species evolved into the upright, sturdy, and walking creatures we are today. Despite how it may feel, running is an act of liberation and survival—it’s how our hunting and gathering ancestors transversed the great plains before us. If you ever need a reminder of how extraordinary your body is, start running. The miracle of the mechanics hits differently when you do it and start to feel the difference yourself each week. I run to feel alive; a reminder, to never take the privilege of each stride for granted.
Are you someone who thinks about what they wear in advanced or are you someone who goes by how you’re feeling? It’s a small moment in each day, but what I wear is a way I nourish my soul. Like a mirror to my mood, like a canvas to how I feel, the clothes I choose is a subtle form of daily expression. Whether I am in the mood for stripes, silent neutrals, or dark tones, it’s about an external representation of how I am feeling in the moment. What are you wearing today?
When I first kicked off Happy Hue’s first vision, I recruited my childhood best friend and incredibly talented illustrator friend to help with the brand’s identity. This playlist was the playlist I curated for her to explain the vibe I wanted to achieve. As we welcome a new cycle, this moment feels right, to reintroduce you to the original brief. This playlist encapsulates the mood, the attitude, and the feeling I hope you always leave whenever you engage with this corner of the internet I am curating and creating. :)
I came across Kyuubei, a Vietnamese photographer’s profile. His aesthetic completely transported me. I can’t explain why; other than, though I am looking at stills, I also feel so much when I look at his shots. The composition, the colors, the scenes, and treatments are captivating. Simple, yet equally arresting.
“Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years. There’s no how-to road map to style. It’s about self-expression, and above all, attitude.” — the late great, Iris Apfel