The Mary Rose's Garden Brand

I'm reading Trump and Kiyosaki's Midas Touch, which is not as much about making money as it is about succeeding in life. I realized that no matter how hard I am pressured to do anything else, that I need to blog everyday to build a brand and to establish my identity- more for myself than for anyone else. In thinking about my brand, I realize that many of the things that I abandoned from my childhood are things that are being rediscovered and revalued.  Food that goes from the land and the sea to your mouth in less than a day or a week tastes better than food that is picked unripe and then sits in cold storage for a month or more.  That the discipline of self-esteem is not simply being the way God made you to be, but recognizing the value in the way that God made everything and the value in the simple, the natural, and the organic.  Spices need to be freshly ground. Herbs need to come straight from the garden. Milk needs to come from a cow- and preferably a cow that you know.  Beer is better if it is brewed in the same place where you drink it.  Floral is better if you arrange it yourself- the more natural the construction methods the better.  Furniture is better if it is hand-crafted by a person with pride in their work. Plastic is toxic. Silk is to wear. Natural fibers are better.

Craftmanship is important (blogger made me do a spell check on craftmanship- not because it was spelled wrong- maybe because it is a low use word).  It is important to know who made your clothes and your shoes- who made your furniture- who created that recipe- who brewed your beer- who is the vintner for your wine- who grew the food you are eating.  It is important to know them, their character, and their methods for making. growing, and preparing the things that you use and that you consume.  It is important to use things that are locally made, locally grown, locally prepared- things that are organic- things that have inherent quality.


Overcoming is important. It is important that every person finds their unique gift to the world and that are allowed to express that gift in the fullest sense possible.  No one should ever settle with life for a penny.  That means that people that work for you should feel that their job is an expression of a gift that they have- that they are paid sufficiently to enjoy their life and to enjoy time with their family and friends.

Connection is important.  We live in a world where it is possible for coffee to be grown thousands of miles away- and for you to encounter that farmer on-line- see their picture- and read their story.  It is possible to see who picked it- who roasted it- who brewed it- in an instant no matter where you are in the world.  Maybe the world would be a better place if all those people involved in our lives, all those people playing a role in the garden of our lives, were people who were known and who are real to us.

In writing this, I am discovering this- a truly amazing process.