The Pyrenees form a high wall between France and Spain.
Such an beautiful region with so much to see.
Between the sensational hiking trails, lakes and all the wild animals, ranging from wild bears, hostile mountain nannies (goats), wolves to a whole bunch of grazing cows, the French (and Spanish) Pyrenees are a hiker’s place to be.
A few pics from our trips there.
Looking forward to our next trip there !
One of my latest podcast episodes touched on the difficulties most of us come up against when looking for a place to rent out.
I spoke about the current state of the banking system, the real estate business and landlords.
The whole talk came from a buildup in frustration as we’ve been looking to move to a new place for some time now.
That said, and by God’s grace and will, we have FINALLY found a spot that fit our expectations, here in Bordeaux !
Better yet, we officially moved into it on our 1 year anniversary !
It’s unfurnished (thank God!), with tall windows and high ceilings, which defo give it a certain cachet. The kitchen is amazing too.
Here’s what our sitting area looks like right now:
The icing on the cake would be the unexpected backyard, where I’m (Tee) likely to be spending a lot of time learning how to grow fruits and veggies on my own ^^
Faith is a powerful thing, mayn. Put your faith in God, do your part and things will definitely work out for the best.
Beyond grateful !
11/10.
My girl is my favorite artist of them all.
She can dance, draw, paint, she’s very handy and often makes amazing stuff out of thin air !
Some people were just born with that extra something, you know ?
I love simpin’ over her paintings and graffiti art, shit is truly mesmerizing.
Check this one out:
Pretty dope, innit ?
I would’ve loved to be so crafty. I mean, can you imagine being so deft that you can literally transcribe your imagination into amazing graffiti ?
Bruh !
I used to draw a lot as a kid, but then quickly grew out of it as I discovered the outdoors.
Being outdoorsy is cool but it’s hella time consuming fam !
I’ve noticed how most people from my generation know all the cartoons and series, always reminisce about their favorite shows and shit.
So, besides having always been an outsider, I’ve also never truly connected with my peers on that level. I spent most of my time outside, either climbing trees, riding bikes or kicking a ball.
The indoors was never for me, till now.
We all change I guess, don’t we ?
Here’s another one of my girl’s favorite creations:
Peace !
We meet people for a reason.
Some will hurt you, others will build you up.
Some will help you grow, others will drain you.
Learn how to let go of those who don’t serve your wellbeing, don’t hold on to things and people out of sheer habit, learn how to value yourself and your time.
As a rule of thumb, I only hang out with those who recognize and understand my worth, friends who truly value my time and my presence.
It’s all about self-worth.
I mean, with everything going on in the world right now, I decided to voice a rather unpopular (and informed) opinion about Covid vaccines: I personally don’t care whether people are vaxxed or not, I don’t.
However, I find it kinda strange that we’re all coerced to put a foreign biological preparation into our healthy bodies, no questions asked or else we don’t deserve some of our most basic human rights ?
Don’t you find that a bit weird?
Hear me out, I’m actually pro-vax.
Having always moved countries, my family and I are have been vaxxed more than the average person.
Case in point, if you’ve never left certain parts of Europe or North America, you may have never been vaxxed against the yellow fever. Yellow fever vaccines aren’t mandatory in many western countries.
But I have, and I’m glad that I did.
That’s just one example.
What I find weird about covid vaccines is all the propaganda and misinformation surrounding them. I hate that health matters are now being politicized. They shouldn’t be.
Same goes for topics like climate change. It shouldn’t be a right of left issue, it’s a human issue.
Anyway, I do understand that getting the shot may boost your immune system, help reduce the spread of this darned virus, decreases the chances of new mutations etc, what I don’t get is vaccine passports and vaccine mandates.
It’s even less comprehensive when you look at the potential risks and safety issues.
That being said, I may get vaxxed at some point, but long as I can do without, I won’t. Not because I’m anti-vax, not because I’m right or left-leaning, but rather because I don’t feel like I need it, nor do most HEALTHY people my age.
I think that makes perfect sense, don’t you ?
Thanks for reading.
Teekay
Contrast is so important man !
Not just in photography, but in life in general.
Hear me out.
The fact that some days SUCK ASS is the reason why the good days are so cherished, don’t you think ?
I mean, it’s only normal for some days to suck, life on earth was never meant to be easy, it’s just a test.
Life is also all about change. We change, the world around us changes, nature is constantly changing. We evolve forward (and backwards), and the only constants in this life are time and love !
The contrast between our best and our worst days helps us magnify the good things that happen to us.
I think that’s beautiful !
As beautiful as our fading bad memories and our ability to forget.
Can you imagine a life where you’d remember all the bad things that’ve ever happened to you ? Bruh !
No man can handle that many memories, so be thankful for your ability to forget, it’s a true blessing !
Also, here’s a memory I never want to forget, from a trip to Kenya ❤
Instagram can and has helped so many youngsters make money, real money !
Instagram gave me a platform to express myself unlike any other platform since MySpace and Skyblog.
Although I’ve always loved blogging, Instagram gave “documenting” a whole new meaning: documenting through real life pictures.
I grew up in a family that wasn’t very artistic.
I barely have any pictures from my childhood. My parents had an old camera but only used it for special occasions.
As such, I was never really exposed to photography till my teen years.
But then shit CLICKED ! It clicked instantly !
When I got my first phone, I took pictures of everything ! I loved following my friends around with a camera at hand, I loved macro photography, printing photos and drawing over them (yeah, weird) etc.
I used to post lots of pictures on Hi5 and Skyblog. Captioning was also super fun for me back then !
Facebook also brought the best out of me. I got my first proper camera, a Nikon 7200D or something in 2010 and it was a game changer !
Instagram wasn’t around back then, but you could feel something was cooking in that sense, cause Facebook just wasn’t cutting it for photographers.
Fast forward a couple of years, I opened my IG and the rest is just wild !
At some point I was posting twice to three times a day !
Instant gratification is a crazy phenom’ dawg !
I just LOVED the feeling of sharing pictures of my travels with people. I loved the likes, the comments. I simply loved the fact something I created was appreciated by people I’ve never met in my life.
A creator’s high is addictive.
Instagram has evolved a lot throughout the years. The rise of stories and DMs was also a whole different ball game.
The ephemeral side of IG stories is what made them so special.
2016/2017 was the season in which I posted the most. I was posting 5 to 6 stories plus 1 to 2 posts A DAY ! I used to spend so many hours editing, coming up with captions and taking pictures.
It was a fun time I ain’t even gon’ front !
I enjoyed the heck out of it, but it was draining, and not just physically.
It’s mentally draining to be constantly seeking instant gratification and compliments, it fucks with your mental health HEAVY.
So I took a big break from it all in 2018.
At first it was supposed to be temporary, but then I just lost the need for validation. I learned how to enjoy life on the sidelines, how to be alone.
A friend of mine once summed up my mindset perfectly. He said “vivons bien, vivons cachés“, which roughly translates to “to lived happily requires one to keep things private”, or “secluded life is the happiest” (English proverb).
Thanks Luc !
Instagram is such a powerful tool if you know how to use it to your advantage. Don’t waste it !
Minimalism made me reevaluate what time means to me and how much of it is wasted doing essentially nonsense.
Minimalism makes you wonder, do I enjoy spending all my free time cleaning and doing maintenance? Do I like spending so much time in stores? Do I enjoy working so many hours and/or side jobs to pay for stuff that is mostly wants or impulse buys instead of needs?
The beauty of minimalism is that it doesn’t force us to do anything, it’s all about the freedom to choose and the power that comes from making decisions based on awareness instead of being ruled by unconscious impulses and societal conditioning (hello neuromarketing).
I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this, but having fewer dishes or less clothes doesn’t allow it to pile up. If you want a clean plate or outfit, you have to keep them clean.
About that, here’s a short and yet perfect story on how to deal with laundry, by Matt d’Avella.
To take this a step further, since becoming a minimalist, I noticed that I now need less self-discipline, since there is no other option than to wash whatever is dirty, and since there isn’t much to maintain and keep up with.
This could be summed up in an extremely simple reasoning: minimizing entails having less work to do.
How ? A simple equation:
Less stuff = less work = less stress
When my go-to isn’t buying more or calling anyone for help, I become more resourceful and creative with what I have.
The other amazing thing about minimalism is that the momentum of enthusiasm created by downsizing/organizing one area of your physical life carries over into others. You want to experience the thrill of accomplishment again and again.
Moreover, as a minimalist, I’ve stopped ignoring my problems, and instead started focusing on them, and minimizing them.
Less stuff also means less decisions, which undoubtedly leads to less decision fatigue.
Once you do not use up your decision making power in non-essential things (such as what to wear or which cup to use) you have more energy in making more important decisions.
A personal uniform could be the answer for some, not necessarily something that works for me though ^^
Last but not least, I think minimalism promotes self-mastery.
Minimalism helps you question everything and consider how temporary the ecstasy of (insert thing) will be.
I think that’s deep.
Patterns are part of our lives.
Positive patterns are seemless and necessary.
For instance, our bodies follow millions of patterns to keep functioning.
Breathing, sleeping and the beating of our hearts are some of the most vital patterns of our bodies.
That being said, this blogpost is more about exploring negative patterns and explaining how breaking said patterns can enhance our quality of life.
You see, negative patterns are just as easy as bodily ones to repeat.
Life patterns vary in severity, but they all have a commonality: they tend to recur.
Here’s a list of negative patterns many of us are familiar with:
The problem with patterns is that at times, it may seem like the problem is gone, but then it repeats after some time, hence making it a pattern.
If you notice negative patterns in your life and if said patterns have occured far too many times to be a coincidence, something is definitely up.
That said, the good thing about patterns is that some of them will keep repeating themselves until you learn the lesson associated with it, which then breaks the loop.
Here’s the point of this blogpost:
Pattern interruption is key to help you prolong your perception of time.
Let me explain.
When we interrupt or break out patterns, the mundane things of our lives start disappearing.
As they disappear, our perception of time starts changing.
It’s pretty simple, our brains love patterns because they usually allow us to be on autopilot.
Living as such may preserve your energy, but boredom is a silent killer. It’s not just physical but psychological suicide.
Here are a few extremely easy habits you can adopt to give life to your life:
I think you get the point.
My life is all about avoiding the status quo and COMFORT. Yours should be too.
New experiences and pattern interruption reverse engineer aging.
Let’s get it !
Having lived in Ethiopia for 4+1 years, I’ve had the privilege to experience rastafarianism first hand.
But before we get into that, let’s break down what rastafarianism is, its roots and what we can all learn from some rasta practices.
Rastafarianism is a spiritual movement that began in the 1930s by Marcus Garvey, in Jamaica. Rastafarians believe that God makes himself known through humanity.
The supreme man in rastafarianism is His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, crowned emperor of Ethiopia in 1930.
Many rastas believe this event to be the Second Coming of Christ who returned to redeem all Black people.
Rastafarianism combines Protestant Christianity (they read the bible selectively), mysticism, and a pan-African political consciousness.
Rastas are pretty health conscious.
They consider their body to be a temple, based on the Old Testament teachings.
Rastas do not drink alcohol or eat food that is not nourishing to their body, which includes meat. Many follow a strict dietary law called “ital”, which states that all food must be completely natural and raw.
Meat is considered to be dead food so, according to Rastafarian belief, consuming it turns the body into a ‘cemetery’.
“Ital” is a vegetarian diet principally intended to improve health and energy. It is thought that being vegetarian is to be closer to the universal energy and life force and to avoid bringing death to God’s creatures.
The aim of healthy eating, using the freshest and most natural food possible, is to increase livity, or ‘life energy’, in Rasta terminology.
Rastas see Africa as a paradise on earth, and at the core of the movement is the belief that all people of the African diaspora should return to their homeland.
If you’ve been to Africa before, you know it’s the most beautiful continent on earth (with South America being close second).
Africa’s rich in culture, history, natural resources, animals, offers all types of climates and is the motherland of all humanity.
If there was such thing as a paradise on earth, Africa surely IS it.
Africa is often referred to as Zion, or Tsiyon in hebrew, which means “holy place” or “kingdom of heaven.”
To be a Rasta, you have to be a true man with your words, a true man to the planet, a true man to the living, and a true man to everything that is good.
Rastas are generally very laid back, kind and humane people.
Having spent some of my best years in Ethiopia as a teen and later, I’ve had the pleasure to chat with lots of rastas about spirituality, pan-African political consciousness and black empowerment.
For rastas, the way you treat yourself, starting with your body and your mind, sets the tone for everything you do.
You can’t respect others if you don’t respect yourself, and you can’t live harmoniously if you’re not right in your body and in your head.
Rastas believe in the principle of balance lifestyle, which includes the wearing of long hair in its natural, uncombed state (dreadlocks), dressing in the colours of red, green, gold, and black, which respectively symbolize the life force of blood, herbs, royalty, and Africanness.
Religious rituals include prayer services, the smoking of ganja to achieve better “itation” (meditative state), and binghi (drum sessions).
The movement takes its name from the emperor’s pre-coronation name, Ras Tafari.
Teekay Rezeau-Merah 