All I Need to Know About Self Care, My Cats Taught Me

Soon after my children and I moved to the west coast, we acquired two cats. The first cat we brought to our new home was at the rescue for a long time before she found us. Apparently, seeming high maintenance with her long hair and "princess like" attitude, nobody wanted to adopt her. The second cat we acquired several months later more by her insistence then ours. She was only eight months old and would not let my children go when we met her. I did not realize the lessons that these cats could offer me.
At first, it seemed that Mandy, the long haired cat, was too prissy for me. She was always cleaning herself and somewhat stand offish. The younger cat, Felina, was a wild woman. She was fun to play with and entertaining to watch. She could not stand being indoors for too long. She had a world to see and it was all her play land. The kids enjoyed Felina and she grew biger and bigger. Felina has become quite a handful over the years. She is an incredible hunter and is constantly bringing us gifts of lizards, birds, frogs, bugs and very big live snakes. She never comes when you call her, has a tendency to fight with the neighborhood cats to her own detriment. She is also fixated on food.
Mandy is somewhat stand offish as originally thought. She is constantly maintaining her hair and appearance. Mandy hates to go outside for too long, just long enough to do what is neessary, get some fresh air and return to the comforts of indoors. She has learned our daily rhythyms and rituals and knows when to be near the food dish. The on unexpected thing about Mandy is her tendency to care for others when they really need it. I call Mandy our nurse kitty because if ever a child runs a fever or hurts themselves, she is always right next to them and will not leave until they are better.
What I have learned in watching these cats is that Felina is of the lower mind. She is all for the immediate pleasure and fun but is not there when really needed. Her obsessions rule her life. Mandy has learned proper self care in order to have the proper energy to care for those around her. She has learned how to present herself and how to find the benefits of rhythym in her family. She enjoys watching the children and has her playful moments but never completely loses herself beyond retrieval as does her younger feline counterpart. More importantly, Mandy has learned that it is okay to ask to be loved and it is okay to take time to herself.
I adore these cats and enjoy watching the extremes of these lessons unfold every day, except for when Felina brings me snakes to play with. I am wondering if it isn't amusing to her to watch me scream and jump on chairs but isn't this how the selfish lower mind is truly entertained? Thank goodness Mandy is always ready to help calm me down and ground me by sitting in my lap and purring until my heart rate returns to normal.