MEMBERS, I have sent this post by email, but am posting it here too incase the email goes to Junk. Have a read, and let me know if you are interested!

It's been wonderful to see so many of the tribe who have been following along for years, sign up to the membership page. I have high hopes for this community so keep checking in, keep asking questions, and please feel free to grace us with your hard earned knowledge on food, healing, detox, motherhood, life! For me personally, this year is the first year that I have really had a moment to sit back and think about where this business of mine can go, and what it is for. Up until now, with the little one by my side, I have only been able to grow it within the confines of being an available mother. I know that MANY of you know exactly what I mean! It was very tricky to prioritise growing a business, when you have a little one that just wants to go to the park or play another puzzle game. And so I would sigh, play, and set business growth aside for when my youngest was in school, and time miraculously presented itself. I am very concerned that now that I am here, there is still not NEARLY enough time available! What the ACTUAL, people?! I was hoping for lie-ins, naps, leisurely lunches with friends to feed the body and soul! But no. It's uniforms, washing, lunch making, form-signing (OMG the form-signing!!!), school-ferrying, and don't even get me STARTED on the after school activities! We have actually made a collective family decision (okay I am lying, I have told everyone in the family) that we are going to cancel EVERYTHING in term 2. No more acro, no more cricket, no music lessons, no after school play dates. We are taking back our schedule. This time last year, the first worldwide lockdown was kicking off, and while I have VERY strong feelings about the erosion of our freedoms, I will always fondly remember that first lockdown, because there was, for our family at least, massive benefits to slowing down. The peace and quiet of not being busy. The PRODUCTIVE time we had on the farm and in the home. I made a pledge that I wouldn't forget those God lessons. I really feel strongly that we have to stand against teaching our children that BUSYNESS is worthy. That STRESS is simply an everyday part of life. I would like my children to respect peace and quiet enough to regularly prioritise it. So it was a bit of shocker to realise that we were back where we started. I hadn't maintained the healthy boundaries learned during lockdown, and I had simply gone back to over-scheduling us all. Lesson learned! Term 2 is going to be about peace, breathing space, creativity, and continued healing! This was supposed to be a short note, but I am rambling...

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

The looooong-winded point I am trying to make, is that the Good Mood Food brand, the balms, the e-books, recipes and other information that I provide, is not really just about me earning enough money so I can avoid going back to a corporate job. I have come to the conclusion that there is a largely unrecognised NEED in this world to disengage from the way things have been down this last century, from the narratives and propaganda. There is a need to slow down and clean up. I believe that there is huge role for small businesses to play in this, that they will help to show the way out of the mire. For local entrepreneurs to shine a light on living a LOCAL life, and support local people with local work. For business to provide an option that doesn't automatically include TOXINS and rubbish. The bigger that businesses grow, the more streamlined they are encouraged to be, in order to make more money, and the temptation is to succumb to automation, cheaper ingredients and bigger turnovers. Because of this, I believe that to focus purely on rapid progress and growth actually causes long term harm. Progress and growth are fine, but they do not have to happen in 3 years, and do not have to look like a rocket launching into space. It can be slower, more organic, with the focus ALWAYS on keeping a product CLEAN and GOOD, and using it to teach our children about QUALITY, about health, clean-living, about locally sourced and made. Does this make sense to you? Imagine a world where every town, small or big, was able to provide enough of everything to keep that town thriving: water, locally grown food, locally made products, and therefore local jobs. Imagine that every young person didn't automatically believe that you need to live in a city to succeed. I have nothing against cities, mind you, it's just that my heart is currently FULL for the success of rural, regional towns, like in the old days.

SCRATCHY BACK TIME

So with all of that in mind, I want to focus on getting the balms into local co-ops, rather than onto the shelves of big conglomerates. I need your help. If you are a member of a Co-op, please consider requesting getting the balms onto your co-op order sheet. Feel free to share this email with the co-op organiser. Additionally, I can offer your co-op a permanent 20% off RRP wholesale price, and reduced shipping costs. And if you succeed, I can offer you 30% off your next order! If you are keen, let me know and I will send you the Co-operative Wholesale pricelist