Welcome to my little corner of the internet.
Oh hey! Another picture of my cat that you didn’t know you needed to see! What can I say, except you’re welcome?
#timon #blackcatlove #blackcatsofinstagram #raggedymangoodnight #raggedyman #disneycats #myboy #furbabylove #maui #moanareference #moana #yourewelcome #whatcanisay #lovemycat #kalidesautelsreads
Today is one of my favourite days to celebrate – #bellletstalk day. A day when people do not feel ashamed to talk about mental illness, and a day when you can raise money for mental wellness simply by using social media or texting as you normally would.
In any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians will suffer a mental health crisis, with approximately 8% of the adult population suffering from a depressive episode. 24% of deaths amongst young Canadians are by suicide.
What does this mean? It means that while we are all worrying about the 3 known cases of coronavirus presently affecting Canadians, and taking measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones against this, there is a 50% chance that the adult sitting next to you right now is living with a mental illness. That is correct – by the age 40, 50% of Canadians will be diagnosed with a mental illness. By bringing it out into the light, where it can be seen, the shame of mental illness withers and dies; by letting those suffer in the dark, THEY may wither and die.
A mental illness is not a personal failing. Just because something occurs “in your head” doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Think about it – ALL pain is in our heads – our nerve centres and pain receptors are in our brains, which is also where depression, bipolar, anxiety, and myriad other diseases live. So be gentle. Be gentle with your friends and family and coworkers; most of all – be gentle with yourself. You really are doing the best you can.
#bellletstalk #bellletstalkday #bellletstalk2020 #mentalillness #mentalhealthawareness #mentalwellness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthquotes #begentle #begentlewithyourself #keeptrying #depression #anxiety #bipolar #brainhealth #kalidesautelsreads
I am all about the sassy, funny, silly, snarky mugs. I love deciding what mood I’m in when I make a coffee or tea, but sometimes it’s about what mood I WISH I was in. When I feel worn out, sometimes a mug reminding me to smile or be happy or do my best is exactly what I need to give myself a bit of a boost.
Other times, like today, they kind of annoy me – like You Did Not Wake Up To Ave Mediocre. Today, I felt like telling my mug “maybe I damn all DID wake up to be mediocre today! You don’t know me, mug. Back off.” Is that perhaps an extreme reaction? Possibly. Did it make me feel better? Abso-flipping-lutely.
In the Spoonie community, we work to be as productive as possible, with our limited energy (spoons), so if today you feel like you did wake up to be mediocre, or you feel like A is for Asleep, own that. You do not have to strive every minute of every day. Sometimes you can push yourself, and sometimes you can push the covers back and crawl back into bed. It’s balance.
Actually? No, it’s not. I’m beginning to think balance is another load of BS that we are fed in order to think if we just figured out an ideal formula we would all be superheroes, and would fit all the 96 million things we have to do in a day into one 24 hour period. I do not think there is a magic equation. I don’t really think there is such thing as balance. Just people doing their best, or 50% of their best depending on the day. In order to do all the things, we prioritize, and when we prioritize, something has to fall away. So, use the spoons you have, be awesome, or mediocre, and feel ok about what you need.
*steps down from soap box*
#awesome #aisforawesome #youdidnotwakeuptodaytobemediocre #spoonielife #spooniesupport #spoontheory #balancedlifestyle #balanceisajoke #somethingsgottagive #mugshotmonday #mugs #coffee #tea #kalidesautelsreads
Sunday is for tea, and friends, and pjs, and all the things to get ready for the week.
Sunday is for my daughter taking over my kitchen doing her baking practice, Michelle, my babies, yoga, soundbaths, nail polish, and cuddles.
Sundays are for EARLY morning walks, coffee, horses, and bubble tea.
Sundays are for whatever the heck you have on your list, long baths, mine craft and tik tok videos by the dozen.
#sundayvibe #sundayrest #sundays #sleepplease #rest #selfcare #mealprep #tea #coffee #bubbletea #caffeine #ivy #mug #spoonielife #spoon #familytime #friends #freshair #nature #love #minecraft #tiktok #kalidesautelsreads
Day 26 – 100 days to slay – a short, walk that ended in a downpour and horses at the midway point!!!
Now I need a nap ❤️
#100daystoslay #friends #walking #slowwalk #yepimassleepyasilook #rainydays #workout #sweatyselfie #sweatygirls #health2020 #kalidesautelsreads #nerdygirls
You know how people think that cats are smarter than dogs? Because cats are so standoffish, and dogs are so affectionate? According to recent studies, dogs have more than double the cerebral cortexes than cats, indicating that dogs could actually be twice as smart as cats. So why do we assume cats are smarter?
Because we put a premium on being “cool”. We think that if someone behaves coolly towards others they are more intelligent or stronger, so we tend to assume that when someone is kind they are a push over.
I posit that this is actually not the case. Think about when someone hurts you – anger is the quickest, easiest, and first reaction. It takes effort to calm yourself down and to put on a kind face and to speak kindly. If someone is kind to you, remember that they don’t have to be. They are CHOOSING kindness every day. If they are kind to you, they are a lot stronger than you give them credit for. Anger is easy. Anger is weakness. Kindness takes effort.
Further to this – if someone shows you seemingly endless kindness, remember that NOTHING is endless, and if you push hard enough, the strongest person will snap and their ability to provide you with kindness will end. You will find that they will turn their attention to someone who appreciates their efforts and who has the strength to provide them with reciprocal kindness.
Take a minute to appreciate those who have the strength to be kind. Thank them. Show them kindness. Real, authentic kindness. In this life of instagram posts and Facebook shoutouts, it is easy to assume that posting something online counts as demonstrating how much we care about someone, but it isn’t it. We all know that. If you post a picture of someone who loves you, talk about how much you love them, but then do not behave that way at home, you are not being strong. Don’t take the easy way out. Choose to be strong. Choose kindness.
#kindness #choosekind #kindnessisstrength #dontunderestimateme #checkonyourstrongfriends #checkonyourfriends #kindnessisnotweakness #angermanagement #angerisweakness #loveyourfriends #donotforget #kindnesscounts #kindnesscostsnothing #love #friends #families #family #bekind #kalidesautelsreads
When Dolly Parton develops an Instagram trend, you say “yes, ma’am” and jump right in.
#dollypartonchallenge #linkedin #facebook #instagram #tindermemes #selfiesfordays #selfie #silly #thursdayvibes #goofballs #instagramismyfavourite #kalidesautelsreads #memes #trending #challengeaccepted #justforfun
It doesn’t snow in Vancouver very often, but when it does, it is magical. The blanket of white; the sparkling flakes; the silence; the rosy cheeks. When I was little, my parents would wake me up in the middle of the night when it would snow, so that I wouldn’t miss the magic, just in case it turned to rain before I woke up. My dad outside in his house coat and dress shoes, gathering a snowball to bring into me in the dark is still one of my most favourite memories. This year, when my girl ran outside when we noticed the snowfall, I tried to resist the pull of the snow, and to be the responsible adult, preparing meals for while my husband was in the hospital. But after my daughter said “come play with me, Mama!” For the second time, I thought of those nights from my childhood, and I realized that I do not want to be the parent who avoided magic with her daughter. I know that the night we spent in the yard with the snow will stay with her a lot longer than one more night of mommy making dinners.
Don’t miss out on the magical moments. There are only so many of them when your kids are young.
#magic #ismellsnow #snowing #snow #magicmemories #memories #meandmygirl #yvr #vancouver #winter #winterinyvr #vancouverinthesnow #childhoodmemories #momlife #child #ilovehersomuch #snowismyfavorite #kalidesautelsreads #unicornbaby
Kali
by Raja Ravi Varma (CC BY-SA)
Kali is the Hindu goddess (or Devi) of death, time, and doomsday and is often associated with sexuality and violence but is also considered a strong mother-figure and symbolic of motherly-love. Kali also embodies shakti – feminine energy, creativity and fertility – and is an incarnation of Parvati, wife of the great Hindu god Shiva. She is most often represented in art as a fearful fighting figure with a necklace of heads, skirt of arms, lolling tongue, and brandishing a knife dripping with blood.
Kali’s name derives from the Sanskrit meaning ‘she who is black’ or ‘she who is death’, but she is also known as Chaturbhuja Kali, Chinnamastā, or Kaushika. As an embodiment of time Kali devours all things, she is irresistibly attractive to mortals and gods, and can also represent (particularly in later traditions) the benevolence of a mother goddess.
The goddess is particularly worshipped in eastern and southern India and specifically in Assam, Kerala, Kashmir, Bengal, – where she is now worshipped in the yearly festival of Kali Puja held on the night of a new moon – and in the Kalighat Temple in the city of Calcutta.
There are several traditions of how Kali came into existence. One version relates when the warrior goddess Durga, who had ten arms each carrying a weapon and who rode a lion or tiger in battle, fought with Mahishasura (or Mahisa), the buffalo demon. Durga became so enraged that her anger burst from her forehead in the form of Kali. Once born, the black goddess went wild and ate all the demons she came across, stringing their heads on a chain which she wore around her neck. It seemed impossible to calm Kali’s bloody attacks, which now extended to any wrongdoers, and both people and gods were at a loss what to do. Fortunately, the mighty Shiva stopped Kali’s destructive rampage by lying down in her path, and when the goddess realised just who she was standing on, she finally calmed down. From this story is explained Kali’s association with battlegrounds and areas where cremation is carried out.
#kali #kalima #hindu #india #idol #destruction #growth #parvati #shakti #ganesha #garnet #rootchakrahealing #rootchakra
Repost • @mrdavehollis I’m a total weirdo and I’m here for it. When I started embracing being who I am rather than who I thought I needed to be, an entire world of impact and fulfillment opened up in front of me. Hear this: The world needs you and all your special, freaky, nerdy, unique weirdness. Don’t give ‘em what you think “they” want, give them YOU — you were made with a totally unique set of attributes that makes you unlike anyone else and exactly what this world needs. Tell me one weird thing about you below 👇🏼👇🏼 that makes you awesome.
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I’ll go first: I’ve moved the same 17 boxes of baseball cards from house to house five times over the last 20 years. Once a year I get all excited about sorting through them and I make a huge mess and three days later pack them up until next year when I forget that there’s no point in going through them again. It’s my jam. I am weird.
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Thanks to @selenaashley_designs for the rad quote card from Girl, Stop Apologizing. Book club continues today as we talk about going all in on one big dream.
#girlstopapologizinglettering
#girlstopapologizing
#thegsaclub
#letsgooooooo
#quoteoflife #quoted #rachelhollis #loop #looper #loops #amazoninfluencer #discoverunder15k #quotations #instalove #bookstagram #books #kalidesautelsreads
Kali J Desautels 