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January 2016 newsletter
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Vital Ones, Today was my Dad’s birthday. Jack would have been 80 today. When I think back on how he influenced my life, I often think of something he told me when I was deciding what to do with it. Would I become a lawyer, an ad-man, a professor, perhaps a writer? In those years after college, when everything seemed possible and I felt paralyzed by the burden of freedom, he said, “Don’t think so much about what you want to do, Rony. Think about what the world needs, and how you can best respond to those needs.” It was wise advice, and for a time led me to teach composition, literature, and film history, thinking, “The world needs critical thinkers who can write. Teaching will respond to this need (plus, I’ll get summers and holidays off to travel!). Years later, standing at the podium, delivering a lecture on Truffaut, I wasn’t sure this was what the world needed of me. I felt a strong need to respond to what I still see as the challenge of our generation: how will we address the reality of global warming in time to avoid its worst consequences? Through an uncanny series of events, I wound up discovering and loving hemp clothing. I came to realize hemp comprises an even more vital part of the solution to global cooling than I originally thought. The journey of transformation, from academic to designer/businessman/activist has been challenging, but not without innumerable rewards. Chief among these rewards: the feeling of shared purpose that permeates every gathering of what I loosely call the Green Business Community. If you sometimes feel alone, despite the seeming abundance of social connection on Facebook, you might attend a Green Festival or Green Drinks event in your community. You will be rewarded with the company of unique, curious, committed individuals who are intent on collaborating to co-create a better world. A couple of events happening locally this month that may inspire you to attend: We’re hosting Green Business Networking at the Vital Hemp store, January 12th from 6 to 9 p.m. Our neighbor, Rawvolution, will supply treats, as will Beanfields Snacks, a Certified B Corp that makes the most delicious organic, vegan chips, and Wildeflowers Elixirs, makers of the world’s first intelligent hot chocolate.. As ever, we’ll supply hemp treats by Nutiva and Manitoba Harvest, as well as hot Tulsi tea by Organic India. We look forward to seeing your shining faces! Get tix in advance to save $5. http://www.greenbusinessnetworking.org/events/green-business-networking-january-2016/ On January 13, 2016 at 7:30pm - 10pm, at The Crest Theater in Westwood, California, I invite you to come to a WEVU community screening of the documentary, The True Cost, followed by a lively panel and audience discussion (I’ll be on the panel). “This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye-opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.” For more info, and advanced tix, here’s the link: http://www.consciouscapitalismla.org/the_true_cost I wish you all a healthy, happy, successful year, filled with the love of family, friends and community. And Happy Birthday Dad. Thanks for opening up the world for me, and believing that we can improve the future.
Thanks for being vital, Ron and the vital hemp crew ~satisfy your hemptations~ {{block id="social_links"}}
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