SHARE YOUR STORIES
– By KimberleeAnna Taplay
W e’re all a work in progress. As written Alan Cohen says:
“Scared and sacred are spelled with the same letters. Awful
proceeds from the same root word as awesome. Terrify
and terrific. Every negative experience holds the seed of
transformation.”
That’s what it’s all about, really – transformation. Every
day, we wake up a different person than we were the day
before. Experiences and memories are the two things that
create the story that is our life. Everyone has a story, and we
are looking for yours!
When I created Project Dragonfly, following the death
of my sister by suicide, I wanted the website to be a place
that people could go to find inspiration and motivation; the
Dragonfly Diaries section of the site is the key component
of that vision.
To ‘dragonfly’ is to change, to transform, to become someone
different than you were before it happened. Whether the
change was from the inside out or the outside in, your
dragonfly moments are what memories are made of, and
they are the moments that weave together the tale of our
life’s journey.
If your life has been touched by the pain of losing someone
to suicide; if you have faced a particularly difficult challenge
and come out the other side of it a different person; if an
event – personal or public – profoundly altered your view
of the world and your place in it, those are all Dragonfly
moments and Project Dragonfly would love to learn about
and share them with others.
30
Researchers at the University of Boston
found that Aspartame, a low-calorie
sweetener used in many diet sodas, wreaks
havoc on the arteries – far worse than
drinking regular soda sweetened with sugar.
Their studies showed that adults who had
one or more diet drinks a day are 2.9 times
more likely to develop Dementia, and are
3 times at a higher risk of having a stroke,
compared to those who have none at all.
If you MUST drink soda and you find it
too sweet, it’s probably better to drink the
regular stuff and add sparkling water to
dilute it. Slowly wean yourself off soda pop
by diluting it more and more.
Lots more online! www.silvergoldmagazine.ca
KimberleeAnna (Right) with her sister Stephanie.
Dragonfly moments aren’t always about loss, either – it’s
about all the little victories in our lives, the ordinary moments
that are actually extraordinary when you realize that they
changed you. It’s all about your life from the inside out, and
sharing your stories so that others may find comfort, hope,
laughter, inspiration, motivation, and love.
Want to know more or share your story? Visit
www.ProjectDragonfly.ca or email your submission to
[email protected] •
KimberleeAnna (KAT) Taplay is mom to two fabulous young women,
Nana to one, a ‘biker chick’, and creator of Project Dragonfly.
[email protected]
According to the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation,
the maximum recommended sugar intake is
approximately 25 grams per day.
According to Coca Cola, one 12 ounce can of Coke has
approximately 39 grams of sugar, or about 7 teaspoons
of sugar. Cheers.