Bangtan Hermana Notes: Little Pockets of Light

What began as an ARMY Glow Up project in 2022 has become a habit of meditation. I turn to cyanotype printing on days when I’m beat, anxious or unwell. And that’s what I did.

I must have caught something viral last weekend and now I’m nursing a bad cold, allergies and back pain. I’m not new to this so I pulled out my meds; took a leave off work; and slept as much as I can. Willing myself to feel better even more, I turned to my cyanotype kit and allowed the sun, water and time to heal me.

I have been waiting for the perfect sunlight, and a clear blue sky. There should be no wind at all.

Yesterday morning, all three converged. The time was just right! Thank you, Nature!

ARMY Daughter gave me flowers last Mother’s Day. I left some violet ones to dry in room temperature and they still look lovely. I’ve been meaning to catch them in light and in shadow. The moment arrived and the prints were beautiful.

And somewhere between arranging the flowers, waiting for the sun, watching the images slowly emerge in water, and simply being present with the process, I realized something: healing is not only found in medicine and rest. Sometimes, healing also happens when we make something with our hands. When we slow down enough to notice light, shadow, water, time, and the small transformations happening in front of us.

This is another gift of making art. It gives the mind somewhere quiet to go.

So, for Namjoon’s birthday month, I’m celebrating this little practice that began because of ARMY Glow Up and has grown into something much more personal: a way of pausing, breathing, making, and finding my way back to myself.

To make art is to pay attention. To pay attention is to be present. And sometimes, being present is its own kind of healing.

Thank you, Joon, for reminding us, in so many ways, to love ourselves, keep growing, and live well in this one beautiful life. May we all keep making little pockets of light.

Book Review: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

I started rereading Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha at the beginning of December 2024 but finished it on New Year's Day. I went back to old reads - The Kite of Stars, a short story by Dean Francis Alfar and The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way, that's why.

Yup. I gave myself a good session of bibliotherapy. Now, for my review of Siddhartha, a book that Kim Namjoon read or recommended (an assumption since he posted this on his IG Story last December 2025).

Religion provides us a structure to practice and make evident our faith. However, there are religious rituals that may prove rigid and superficial that it drives us away from faith that is real and life affirming. In Siddhartha, my take away is this: true authenticity and spirituality come from embracing both life’s joys and struggles. It’s not about escaping challenges but fully immersing oneself in them to find peace. And there I find a similarity to Ignatian Spirituality because, when praying through the Examen, one is able to look at the highs and lows of pivotal life events; the happy times and the sad moments of the day where grace and gratitude resides. I think this experience is synonymous to finding inner peace and striking a balance in life.

Kim Namjoon’s documentary, Right People, Wrong Place echoes this search for balance. Like Siddhartha, he reflects on finding harmony by accepting life’s imperfections and contradictions. Both explore the idea that peace comes not from avoiding hardships but from understanding and growing through them. Namjoon’s journey, much like Siddhartha’s, is about learning to embrace life in its raw, authentic form.

Like Siddhartha, like Kim Namjoon, one needs to be brave to be able to do this.