TIMES SUCH AS THESE

• Posted on 29 March 2020
• By Kate Lamontagne
• 2

Kate's thoughts about sheltering in.

In a heartbeat, life can literally change! 

We have assumed our lives would always be as we know them, the hard stuff happens elsewhere.

But the hard stuff is with us now and we must do the right action.  I often remind the women who sit in circle at Kamala, to ask themselves a question when they don't know what to do: 

"what is my next best step?"

And if you have to ask yourself a thousand times a day, then you do that.  You can't handle your whole life right now, or the world, but you CAN handle the next few moments.

So these times... such as they are.

What is your next best step? 

It might be simply to NOT take one.  Staying at home right now, saves lives.  It is the strangest concept for us, who are so used to the privilege of going anywhere. But let's adopt the mind of generations and cultures gone by and have our world be close and have that be okay. 

Funny thing is, that two weeks ago, around the middle of March, when the reality of not going to work was beginning, there was some resistance, there was also joy, because I know that many of us, untouched by the gravity of the pandemic, immediately went to, "SNOW DAY!" 

Two weeks later, we are finally realizing that it is not a snow day, it is something new altogether, the strange idea that our nuclear family is our world that we can touch, and no further right now. 

Some of us have settled into this so happily!  Like all of our pets.  right?  My little Sparrow is the happiest dog on the planet with her pack around 24/7.  This is what our pets live for.  If we all adopted that mindset, even just a little, how much happier we all will be... to find the joy of here in this moment...  as the weather warms, maybe taking a book outside and sitting in the sunshine with the family pets napping at your side.  The stuff of Normal Rockwell paintings.   (I also predict there is going to be HUGE resistance to going back to the workplace when that happens!)

I have been working hard... my hands ache because my workload increased exponentially with sheltering in.  Getting the Kamala online shop has been a long journey. I essentially do it all myself.  Now it is quite possibly and hopefully the lifeline for my business.  I always dreamed of an online shop that was very active, but the reality is, that orders trickle in, and that is okay.  The reality is, that I must be a bee that buzzes in your bonnet to make you notice me- a hard thing for many self employed artistic hearts to do.  We dream of organic growth of our creations.  The reality is, there is much work to be done beyond creating the space and the offerings, whether curated or hand-crafted.  Our senses are pummeled daily with advertisements.  Believe me, this is not the reality that I would like Kamala to have to be in!

So my beautiful little slice of heaven, Kamala Boutique has been recreated as an online store, with new items going in daily, as I make my way down the thousands of items we carry in the real shop. 

I would be honored for you to peruse the offerings and imagine that you are in my store, listening to the quiet and relaxing music, smelling the soft fragrance that people identify with Kamala. And if you are inspired to shop, please know that I do a wild little happy dance of gratitude and exhale a little.

May you find JOY as you continue to Shelter In. 
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.

kate xo