Flashback to a year ago when depression and mental illness were central issues in my life and trying to take a photograph with my daughter was beyond awkward. If you are working through issues like this right now, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, depersonalization, a traumatic brain injury, Neuro-Lyme, Mold Illness, etc.,., amidst COVID-19 and the backdrop of a global pandemic, then my deepest and most heartfelt prayers are especially with you. To be disadvantaged in any way right now beyond the obvious loss of stability, income, etc., can feel like an insurmountable challenge, but I hope you will hang on to hope.
The process of recovering my life was complicated and slow. Reading, research, writing, therapy, movement and medical interventions; these things helped. But I survived in large part because my daughter intervened in a powerful way. This picture is a reminder of the the tenacity my daughter brings to adversity, determined here to help me overcome a subjective reality where I was deformed from a recent broken nose and subsequent plastic surgery that forever changed my face. My daughter has also struggled with depression, anxiety, etc.. so they posses a unique understanding of the terrain. They got me out of the house, took me on secret trip that involved feeding fish in a sanctuary garden.
Yet getting better complicated my relationship with the Well Scent community. I no longer accepted curative language, I thought more about disability and accessibility. I learned about cultural appropriation and thought back to content I created about smudging or using sage, or the times I would casually use the word “tribe”. I had created content that was harmful to people with disabilities and to cultures that use sage and smudging as part of ancient practices, and ignorance did not excuse this. With visibility comes a greater responsibility.
Today I feel equipped again to share with a community that has entrusted me in the past. I won’t talk about healing or overcoming an illness or disability, but I can convey the science behind aromatherapy, and I can speak to a large number of issues today that can improve quality of life.
- I will be lowering prices of all products, while maintaining my ongoing commitment to only source wildcrafted and organic essential oils. In return, I ask that you start to challenge yourself to replace products from MLM companies that are so common in this industry. When you purchase or promote these products, it makes it harder for small businesses to survive, Also, non organic essential oils promote the use of RoundUp use in farming.
- I will hold myself accountable to this community so I want to hear from you if I am saying something that is harmful in any way to a person, group, etc., please let me know.
- I will be offering a sliding scale moving forward to anyone that has need and I will sponsor a handful of customers every year with even deeper discounts.
