Farewell to an old friend

I envy people who feel a spiritual certainty about what becomes of 'us' after we draw our final breath - I have ideas and thoughts, but nothing solid enough to give me the comfort of 'knowingness.' Still, life waits for no one and today we had to bid farewell to Rosie aka Black Dog aka The Dog of Love. I know, people always go on and on about their dogs and with good reason. We get from them the unconditional, always new feeling of love that we rarely find anywhere else on earth. So I just want to take a moment to honor her passing with some rather amusing tales (tails) -

Something some folks may not know is that our corporate name, Border & Black Ventures, was formed in honor of our border collie rescue dog, Jackie Brown, and Rosie, a mixed breed, also a rescue dog. When asked what kind of dog Rosie was, we'd just say "She's a black dog" because that pretty much summed it up in terms of breed characteristics. However, we named the company Border & Black because we actually admire the traits they each exhibit naturally. I'll leave the Border part for another day, but the Black part from Rosie was this. She had a healthy love of food (which we transcribed into a love of healthy food), a tendency to always hang out with the big dogs and get them to play nice, and the ability to simply share the love.

When she took agility training, she wasn't any good at all at agility, but she sure knew how to work the crowd. She was dubbed 'the agility hostess' because she'd greet all the dogs and people then settle in looking for food on the floor or trying to work her magic a second time to get everyone else to feed her treats again.

But as happens to us all eventually, her eyesight went, then her hearing, then just about everything else. She had a couple of brushes with ailments we thought might bring her demise, though both times she somehow miraculously pulled out of these ailments and almost snapped back. These events became known as the times Rosie simply needed to be rebooted. She got rebooted twice, though each time she came back with a bit less zest, a bit less - well, Rosie-ness.

We saw the decline and acknowledged she was simply aging, so we accommodated. Her walks were shorter so she could manage, we got up with her at 4am because, well, that's what time she got up. We moved slower and grew more patient just allowing her to enjoy life as it came to her. Last night, it was a beautiful cool desert summer night. We sat in the backyard and heard the crunch crunch crunch of a neighbor was walking down his driveway. We couldn't see him, but they heard the footsteps and both dogs gave an obligatory bark or two. The neighbor himself barked back playfully a couple of times (he's never done that in all the years we've lived here). Rosie barked once more, apparently satisfied, then stood on her wobbly, failing legs, just sniffing the night air. A good night to say farewell.

Like all the dogs in all our lives, she'll be remembered for how much love she helped us feel. So today, in honor of Rosie, share the love with someone or something in an unconditional, black dog kind of way. Read more!

Thoughts On Turning Two - shopOrganic.com Celebrates Its Two Year Anniversary

This week, we celebrate your two year anniversary. What an eventful two years its been. In early 2008, when our plans for launching this business and the shopOrganic.com website were forming, we had no idea that the economy was about to fall out from beneath our feet. We had high hopes and when we clicked the button to publish the site and make it live that evening on May 8, 2008, we thought great things were about to happen. And we were right...sort of ....

We had strong sales at first, but as the economic cloud get getting bigger and darker, we grew concerned that our sales wouldn't grow fast enough and that our start up cash would run out before we hit our stride.

We have continued to do what we do best - find the highest quality, most unique and wonderful organic, fair trade and eco-friendly products available; offer them on our easy-to-use website and provide THE best customer service anywhere on the planet. It's a simple but powerful combination and judging from our repeat customers, we know it's a winning formula.

As we look back, we recognize the long hours, the hard work and the stress we endured to create this company. As we look forward, we see a bright horizon and wonderful opportunities awaiting us. We have big, BIG plans for the future and we're confident we'll be able to create this new future with a bit of help from our loyal customers, new customers and maybe an angel investor or two....

For now, we continue to wake up every day thankful that we do what we love and make a difference in people's lives. We would love to hear your comments and thoughts about our two year anniversary - feel free to comment here or visit shopOrganic and submit comments through our online form.

Thanks to everyone who made the first two years possible. We believe that our very survival over this two year period is a huge victory and we appreciate everyone along the way who encouraged, supported, offered us discounts to get us going and most of all our customers who make every day a great day at shopOrganic.
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Happy Holidays Starts With Taking A Deep Breath

This time of year, the holiday spirit invites us to participate in gatherings of all kinds. The opportunity to connect with friends, colleagues and family in the spirit of kindness and sharing is an amazing gift that we can strive to carry with us the other 11 months of the year. But it can also be a stressful time when expectations can overwhelm us. This year, I invite each of you to stop for five minutes when the pace is most hectic. Sit quietly, stand quietly, breathe out (the breathing in part always takes care of itself). Focus on your heart, think of someone or something you love unconditionally.

When I get stressed, I stop and think about my dogs or the antics of my evil but lovable cat. Mind you, there are many people in my life I love - but honestly, just thinking about my dogs (or cat) makes my blood pressure drop instantly. Actually, studies have consistently shown that dogs (in particular) help lower stress in humans (being with dogs or truly, even just thinking about them). Amazing, but true.

So,when the stress of all the to do's starts getting to you, center your thoughts for just a moment on something greater than yourself. Remember that the holidays will be just fine without every detail being perfect. Remember the point is to connect with friends and family and share the love. Everything else is just window dressing.

Happy holidays! Read more!

What Really Matters

During this holiday season, many people in this country and around the world are concerned about their economic security. For some, this is a mild discomfort - but for many millions more, it is a vague, threatening feeling lurking just under the horizon of consciousness or a massive, in-your-face reality. Regardless of the source or reason, it is impacting us all.

This year, we started shopOrganic.com. In January, the future seemed bright and shiny and full of possibilities - all of which included wild success. In the spring, we saw the problems in the housing market and knew it would 'soften' the economy a bit, but we remained optimistic. By fall, we saw the impending collapse of the mortgage and insurance giants. Concerning but still manageable. We remained optimistic. Then came the broader collapse of...well, many more giants in the financial industry.

We started thinking, 'wow, what unfortunate timing we had, to open a business in a year of historic worldwide financial problems.' Still, we remained optimistic. OK, some of you might be thinking 'these folks must be insane to remain optimistic in the midst of this mess.' Maybe. But I see it differently. Let me digress just a bit further and we'll circle all the way back in a moment.

I was listening to NPR a few months back. They featured an interview with the woman who is CEO of the company that owns International House of Pancakes (aka IHOP). I'm always interested in hearing how others approach business, especially in businesses very different from those in which I have experience. The interviewer asked the CEO how she handled a particular problem and she answered 'I focus on what I can do. I can't control the economy. I can't control my competitors. So I focus on the things over which I do have control.' Sounds a lot like a 12 step program...and it's still sage advice.

So, back to the issue of control, as promised. Do I wish the economy was better? Yes. Do I wish it wasn't impacting me, my friends, my family and my co-workers? Absolutely. But I have no control over these macro-economic issues. I can write my Congressional representatives or contact the President-elect at change.gov - but I alone will not impact this situation. So, it comes down to choices - financial and otherwise. I'm trying to make wise financial choices that include spending where needed (doing my part to keep the economy chunking along) and being wise with my funds. I'm also choosing to remain optimistic. After all, how I view things may not control the outcome but it certainly controls my experience of it.

I've been living on a pretty strict budget this year because I knew I'd be spending all my time and money starting this business. I've already learned to tighten my financial belt and I've developed new habits as a result. And along the way, I discovered something really important. When you actually take away all the 'stuff' we grow so easily accustomed to, you're left with your self, your life, your relationships. It's like cleaning out a room only to discover the most magnificent hard wood floors hidden under that hideous old worn out carpet. I've talked with friends in the past few weeks who all have experienced the same thing - a renewed sense of love and appreciation for what they DO have in their lives. So, while we're in a tight spot as a nation and a planet, we have a unique opportunity to take a new look at what we do have. We can cherish the people in our lives that bring us joy, comfort and friendship. We can choose to be optimistic and find ways out of this jam - together. Read more!