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December 2015 newsletter
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 Vital Ones, I’m squeezing a final newsletter in while we’re still in December. Here’s what I love about December, in no particular order: I was born in December, 1963. I like being a Sag-; and even though I don’t take astrology too seriously, I sometimes find wisdom there. I love the December holidays—Hannukah, Christmas and even Kwanzaa (tho’ I’ve never really experienced it)—for the same reason I love Thanksgiving: they bring people together, and re-focus people on what they’re grateful for…. I like the possibility of snow and going skiing. I haven’t skied in a couple of years, and it’s been pretty dry in California. Maybe El Nino will change that for a little while, until we plant more hemp and cool the globe “for real” (as Eden says)—a major part of our vision at Vital Hemp. Eden loves lighting candles and Christmas lights and caroling. I like the rituals of closure and opening that come with the end of the year. We clean; we pay debts; we collect debts. We finish a project or two. This morning, I called all the unidentified numbers in my voicemail, before identifying them and deleting them, clearing space. We connect with friends in December, maybe more than in other months. For some, it can be a profoundly lonely time. If you know someone who’s feeling this way, reach out. We consider the shape of the previous year—what we experienced, what we learned, what we want more of, what we want never to repeat. Here are a few of the things I learned this year: Hire slow; fire fast. Or, as my barber Denny put it: “Some people, when they find a job, they stop looking for work.” People say, “It’s not personal.” I think both business and life are profoundly personal. I think that love for self or others is best measured by the commitments we’re willing to make and keep. I experienced a few accidents this last year, major Owees—surfing, bodysurfing and running into an unmarked glass wall. Pain, suffering and recuperation reminded me of the following lessons: 1) There’s an inverse relation between pain and attention. If we’re in pain, it’s hard to focus on higher level tasks like work. I think this is true on a macro level too. When communities are in pain, suffering from war or catastrophe, for example, it’s very challenging for them to attend well to things such as work, art, or anything productive. 2) As Confucious said, “Let family, friends & success be represented by the numeral 0. Let health be represented by the numeral 1. Without the “1” you have nothing. With the one, each additional zero increaseth your happiness.” On the macro level: without a healthy ecosystem, we cannot have healthy economies, communities, etc…With a healthy ecosystem, we can prosper in innumerable ways. With this, I raise a glass to all of you tonight, wishing you health, and happiness. Thank you for your support this year. We look forward to continuing to design, locally-produce and distribute the finest, softest, most-comfortable and stylish hemp clothing possible—for you, and for the future of all species of life on our dear Earth home. As my mother, Elena, would say, “Wear it in good health!” & Happy New Year, all year!!!
Thanks for being vital, Ron and the vital hemp crew ~satisfy your hemptations~ {{block id="social_links"}}
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