my name is jen and i'm a lot of things - which of those things is most important depends on whose perspective you're taking, i suppose. i'm a mama and that is a very serious and simultaneously silly role for me. we giggle a lot. we do made-up yoga poses.
i'm an activist and have been, in one form or another, since the early 90s. i'd have to say my desire to save (or at least change) the world has been a part of me since birth, though it was intensified by an early subscription to Owl magazine. do you remember Owl? it was a magazine for elementary aged kids, with an environmentalist slant. instead of girls, the centerfolds were of cute fluffy animals that made you squee with delight. my activism shifted as i became aware of what it meant to grow up a girl in a community that said women were totally disposable and i devoured Sassy magazine in an act of resistance. poverty and class came crashing to the forefront as i became a single mama struggling to survive. a lifetime of trauma led to a (melo)dramatic clash against the mental health and social service systems. somewhere in there, i managed to make all the connections, piece it all together to see the whole picture... and then completely burn out. but that's okay. it's like a requirement or something.
i am often described as a hippie, though i don't look like one - must be all the yoga, homemade granola, and love talk. i really do mean it though - the love talk, i mean - and it's what is left of my activism. i think a lot of people find that too. when you lose everything - whether it be your money, your home, your family and friends, your identity, your faith, your politics, your ego - you are left with love. if you're lucky, that is.
this is my favorite quote and it sums it all up rather nicely:
"Like the mother of the world, touch each being as your beloved child." ~Buddha
so anyways. i also have the good fortune of being able to work for the best company i've ever known - Lush Cosmetics. we share the same values and ethics around environmental and social issues, so we get along well. in fact, i am a green helper for Lush, which means i get to gently poke at people when they could be behaving in a more sustainable/green manner. more importantly, it means that i am publicly held accountable for doing my part. i like that. and then, as a part of doing that job better, i thought i'd start a little blog where i get to talk about issues as i see 'em and maybe in a more passionate way than i would in the shop. (this is not to say i don't climb up on my soapbox at work from time to time. wait. soapbox. at Lush. harty-har-har.)
thanks to ruth in the UK for her inspiration. <3
so comment anyway. tell me i'm a dork if you see fit. tell me what you're doing. tell me that we're gonna fix this thing together.
i'm an activist and have been, in one form or another, since the early 90s. i'd have to say my desire to save (or at least change) the world has been a part of me since birth, though it was intensified by an early subscription to Owl magazine. do you remember Owl? it was a magazine for elementary aged kids, with an environmentalist slant. instead of girls, the centerfolds were of cute fluffy animals that made you squee with delight. my activism shifted as i became aware of what it meant to grow up a girl in a community that said women were totally disposable and i devoured Sassy magazine in an act of resistance. poverty and class came crashing to the forefront as i became a single mama struggling to survive. a lifetime of trauma led to a (melo)dramatic clash against the mental health and social service systems. somewhere in there, i managed to make all the connections, piece it all together to see the whole picture... and then completely burn out. but that's okay. it's like a requirement or something.
i am often described as a hippie, though i don't look like one - must be all the yoga, homemade granola, and love talk. i really do mean it though - the love talk, i mean - and it's what is left of my activism. i think a lot of people find that too. when you lose everything - whether it be your money, your home, your family and friends, your identity, your faith, your politics, your ego - you are left with love. if you're lucky, that is.
this is my favorite quote and it sums it all up rather nicely:
"Like the mother of the world, touch each being as your beloved child." ~Buddha
so anyways. i also have the good fortune of being able to work for the best company i've ever known - Lush Cosmetics. we share the same values and ethics around environmental and social issues, so we get along well. in fact, i am a green helper for Lush, which means i get to gently poke at people when they could be behaving in a more sustainable/green manner. more importantly, it means that i am publicly held accountable for doing my part. i like that. and then, as a part of doing that job better, i thought i'd start a little blog where i get to talk about issues as i see 'em and maybe in a more passionate way than i would in the shop. (this is not to say i don't climb up on my soapbox at work from time to time. wait. soapbox. at Lush. harty-har-har.)
thanks to ruth in the UK for her inspiration. <3
so comment anyway. tell me i'm a dork if you see fit. tell me what you're doing. tell me that we're gonna fix this thing together.
