R for Radical
On living a devoted life from A to Z
Last year, I decided to embark on a creative experiment, writing this A-Z series about how to embody DEVOTION – my word for 2025 – in my daily life. I intended to complete it by year’s end. But life had other plans.
As the series stretched into 2026, I pondered whether I should stop where it landed. Perhaps it would be perfect to end at O for Ordinary, as life’s returning to its purest, simplest form. But my Virgo stellium screamed that it’d look unpretty to leave it unfinished.
This A-Z series was inspired by Lara Day, a coach and writer I admire. Back in 2024, she shared in real-time how she crafted the first draft of her memoir over a period of six weeks. Twenty-six short stories wove together her journey of becoming by the thread of alphabets. I felt a joyful, easeful energy through her writing that I wanted to experience. That I could flow and have fun in my own work, too.
Devotion has taught me that life isn’t about kicking goals or churning out projects. It’s an empathic commitment to tending to every task and process with care, honesty, and humility. I see the extension of this series as an encouragement to stay devoted to my practice and allow it to evolve in shapes and flavours.
Entering 2026, I sense a surge of speediness and saturation around me. More cars honking and people yelling on the streets. Brighter lights and louder music at the shops. Non-stop news of tragedies, scandals, and controversies jamming my social media feed. Everyone seems to have a lot happening in their lives.
I’ve noticed a shift within me, too. I want to move my body more and spend more time among trees. I miss the mental challenge of solving complex problems. I hear the call to learn from Black, Brown, and Indigenous wisdom keepers. A somatically felt desire to express, expand, and deepen.
And I keep seeing the same vision in my daydream: me standing in front of a giant blank canvas, alone, with my sleeves rolled up, holding a paintbrush. I don’t know what to do or where to start. My eyes scan frantically for instructions and clues to no avail. The message is clear: there’re no rules, and I have the green light to do whatever I want.
Having lived within the box my whole life, the idea of no-rules makes my head spin: what if I make the wrong choice, mess up, and burn myself out again?
My nervous system remembers how I used to work through pain and exhaustion, neglecting internal needs to meet external agendas. The fear feels real and visceral, even though I know I’ve learnt and grown since. The battle scars stay on as a cautionary tale of never again.
Maybe this is why the blank canvas terrifies me – what if freedom is just another way to burnout?
My word for 2026 is RADICAL.
Some people were surprised when I shared this. ‘Radical? That sounds rebellious.’ And I understood why they might think that. We’ve come to associate radical with radicalisation, where a person adopts extremist or terrorist ideologies, beliefs, and/or actions. I used to think the same until a friend told me its etymology a year ago:
The word radical comes from the Latin word radix, which means root or from the ground. It later evolved to radicalis, meaning of or having roots. In English, it originally meant of or from the root, or fundamental – as in getting to the foundation of a matter.
Being radical has nothing to do with screaming out loud or fighting against the world. Instead, it implies rootedness, a relation to or engaging with the core foundation of something. Like a healthy tree that doesn’t rely only on its trunk growing tall but also on its roots anchoring deep.
Staring at my blank canvas, I remember Frida Kahlo.
She is the epitome of radical: how she refused to associate herself with the Surrealist movement, declaring “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” How she owned her identities and stories so fiercely, telling her husband “I don’t give a shit what the world thinks. I was born a bitch, I was born a painter, I was born fucked. But I was happy in my way. You did not understand what I am. I am love. I am pleasure, I am essence, I am an idiot, I am an alcoholic, I am tenacious. I am; simply I am...You are a shit.” How she channeled and transformed physical and emotional sufferings into her art, fashion, romantic life, even politics.
Kahlo made up her own rules for everything. Never succumbing to expectations. Never following trends. Never performing for anyone. Always unconventional, unapologetic, passionate, and defiant.
After all the quitting, purging, and clearing ground – I know this year is about ROOTING. Not back into old conditioning or expectations, but in my own heart, where love and purpose embrace each other.
For me, being radical is:
Making my first stroke on that blank canvas – an uncharted territory – even when I don’t know how things will turn out.
Saying no when my body senses something’s wrong, even if it disappoints others.
Choosing slowness when hustle culture says I should be grinding faster.
Embracing enough-ness when consumption culture says I need more.
Owning my emotional sensitivities as superpowers – not flaws to be hidden.
Sharing my experiences and insights without minimising or apologising.
But here’s what terrifies me most: allowing myself to be fully seen, especially the fiery spirit that’s been suppressed my whole life. The part of me that questions the status quo. That refuses to play small or shy away from taboos. The part that wants to create boldly like Frida Kahlo.
I don’t know what my “new painting” will look like yet but I’m starting: relaunching my second Substack. Reviewing and updating my website. Exploring part-time work opportunities. Connecting with and introducing myself to local and online communities.
This is the kind of radical I’m claiming for 2026. Not rebellion for its own sake. But the courage to be rooted in who I actually am – fire, sensitivity, truth, and all.
“When you don’t follow your nature there is a hole in the universe where you were supposed to be.” ~ Dane Rudhyar
Dear fiery spirit, Keep being radical. It becomes you and reminds all of us to find our own radical freedom from inside out.
Lovely Bonnie. Really enjoying reading about your process as you document it here on Substack and seeing so much resonance with how I am evolving too.