Jordan Essentials: Bath, Body and Spa Rep #10522 http://jordanrep.com/10522
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Tumbling Down the Mountain
If you read my post The View From the Mountain, you know how I like to see things. I like to be able to back away from 'in your face' troubles and see my life from a larger perspective.
I know that much of life is in the details. All the small things add up to all the big things. But, when it comes to difficult times in life, or even good times, sometimes all the details can be just a little too much to deal with when they are up close and personal.
Sometimes it's good to be able to back away, if only in my mind, and view situations from a different place with a little more distance. Looking at things from a different viewpoint can make all the difference in the world.
I like to be able to do that. But, I am not always able to do it. It is especially difficult when I make a mistake that causes injury to myself or others.
(Even in this blog world, I make mistakes that cause me grief. I already wrote this post once, and I said it better than I'm saying it now. But, I forgot to 'save as draft' before clicking a link, and it all disappeared. Now, I'm having to start over and try to write it again.)
I came tumbling down the mountain last night, and lost my bigger perspective, when I realized that the date that has been in my mind this week ("April 26th") was there for a good reason.
I've been procrastinating about looking for some paperwork. I don't know why. Somehow, I convinced myself that I didn't know where it was. But, I did know. Last night, when I finally reached for it, it was in the very place I'd left it a few weeks ago. And, that was 1st place I looked.
Because of my willingness to believe my own misdirection, "You probably have until the end of April. Just be sure to take care of it by the end of April," I missed the deadline for a $150 rebate.
In my world, $150 is significant. Waiting past the deadline to recover a $150 rebate is the kind of thing many people would be very angry with another person for doing. I'm not very happy with myself either.
In my world, $150 would have filled my car's gas tank for more than a month, even at the high prices we're paying now. In my world, $150 would have bought food to eat for weeks. In my world, $150 would have taken care of car repairs and food for my animals. In my world, with my current low level of income (by comparison to other times in my life or some other incomes in this country), $150 is not much less than my take home pay for a forty-hour work week.
It was no small matter for me to 'forget' to make the effort to take care of that rebate. I made a poor choice, and I made it again and again every time I put off taking care of that rebate paperwork. It was my mistake. It is my loss.
Now, I need to put it behind me and move on.
If I can back away, and move back up the mountain, I will see that "It's just money." And, I will see that I'll have more money some day. And, I will see that in the larger scheme of things, it probably is not as significant as it feels to me right now.
I hope I'll also see something that will help me make sure I don't do that again. It may be be 'just money', but it's a significant amount for me to have just thrown away for no better reason than not making an effort to take care of paperwork on time.
A friend sent a note asking how things are with me. Things are good in my life. I'm healthy and happy. I'm not wealthy, but I have shelter, food, clothes, transportation and some luxuries (school, Internet, the opportunity to travel to see family and friends). I suppose I have some wisdom, as I should, proportionate to my years.
But, could I write back and just say, "Everything's great. Thanks for asking! :)" or "Let me tell you about Country Bunny Bath and Body ..." ... lol ... Nooooo! :)
Instead, I described a mental activity I practice sometimes. After writing the letter , I realized you were not able to see over my shoulder well enough to read it in its entirety, so here is what I wrote:
"I'm trying to look at it the way I try to look at most things in my life. I got an image from a book (I think) a long time ago. The book may have been by a Jungian analyst (or loaned to me by one, or both).
There was a description of being in a place (life, up close and personal). Then, in the thought process, you back away and move away from the current events (crisis, problem, experience). You move further and further away and up the hill until you cannot see the problem at all. You can barely even see the town.
I don't think that thought process was original with me. I think I read it somewhere. But, I like to do that with my life (when I remember). In my imagination, this image has always been a tiny town. When I think of it now, the town looks like an old European village. But, until I tried to describe it, the mountain beside the town was in China or maybe from a Japanese painting (those paintings of huge waves and huge mountains).
So, in my imagination, I back away from my current experience. I move away from it through the streets of the village. My 'real life' gets smaller and smaller, more difficult to see. As I begin to climb the hill beside the town, I can see my life and my problems again, but they are small when compared with the size of the village. I continue up the hill.
The hill is really a mountain. The mountain is HUGE, like the Himalayas or the Swiss Alps or the mountains in the Japanese paintings. As I climb, the village becomes smaller and smaller. The clouds drift by below me obscuring my view. I begin to notice the life around me on the mountain. I begin to see the trees, the rocks, the dirt, the sky. I feel the breeze and the sun on my skin.
Whatever happened in that village is long gone.
It feels that way anyway.
After a while, my heart is full and happy. My breathing is slow and easy. I can feel that my face is smiling. I know that whatever happens in that village feels important to me when I am right there next to it or in the middle of it. I also know that it is very small when I look at it from this view.
Filled with the view from the mountain, I make my way back to the village. I move slowly. I am in no hurry to return to fretting and negativity and frustrations. I look around and try to pull it all into myself. I want to take it all back with me so that I will have the mountain perspective within me when I walk back into my life in the village.
I return to my life in the village. Sometimes I forget about the mountain. But, sometimes I can go there in my mind, and the cares and the vanities of the moment fall away. I see that I am not so important, and I am very important. I am a part of something bigger than myself. In that way I am important. I am a part of life. The sunshine and the breeze, the clouds and the trees on the mountain, all are a part of the same wholeness of which I am a part.
As one prolific blogger friend would say "shameless marketing continues". But I say, your mom (or wife or girlfriend or partner) will thank you!
Consider giving the woman in your life a Country Bunny Bath and Body gift basket. Country Bunny Bath and Body gift baskets are available in a variety of fragrances with an assortment of our most poplular items.
Our signature fragrance is Oatmeal Milk and Honey. The gift basket in Oatmeal Milk and Honey is a wonderful selection of our most popular fragrance, complete with gift card. The set includes: the Oatmeal Milk & Honey Soap, Lotion Bar, 4 oz. Body Butter Tube.
The gift basket in the Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance is available for $25.00 plus tax and shipping. That's less than a small order of flowers. And, the gift basket will last longer and remind her of you each time she uses the Oatmeal Milk & Honey Soap, the Lotion Bar, or Body Butter Tube.
You can order online and have the gift basket in the Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance shipped directly to the woman you love.
To order from here, click the link to my online store and shop from home. Let Country Bunny Bath and Body do the packaging, shipping, and delivery for you. (UPS delivers to the street address of your choice.)
Hint: Start at the home page for my online store, scroll down and and click the link at the bottom of the page to shop. Then, click on the link that says "Gifts". There, you'll find several gift baskets from which to choose.
A week ago, on my way home from work, I stopped by a neighborhood bar close to midnight to see the owner. We've talked business before with other ventures, so I wanted to show her the lotion bars. At that time, I only had one lotion bar, the Peach Mango Lotion Bar I bought the week before.
She smelled it, and liked it, "but," she said, "I don't own the bar anymore. I sold it a couple of months ago." She's always been nice to me, though, so she directed me to the current manager and said, "Show them to her. She'll let you sell them."
That sounded good to me. So, I walked over to the new manager and opened up the tin containing the Peach Mango Lotion Bar. She liked it. So did her girlfriend who was with her.
She said, "Come back on a night when there are more people here. Come back on a Tuesday when we have dollar longneck beers." I asked, "How many should I bring?" She said, "Fifty."
Well, I wasn't that brave. I only bought 5 or 6 of the Peach Mango Lotion bars. And, I bought that many of the Oatmeal Milk and Honey Lotion Bars. They both smell wonderful, but in totally different ways. Obvious ways. One is peachy and mango-y. The other has a very pleasing sweet smell that one friend thinks is an almond smell. That could be, since sweet almond oil is one of the ingredients.
I went back to the bar tonight. I left my house about 11pm. I should have been in bed, because I have class at 8am. But, I had told them I'd come back tonight. There wasn't a huge crowd, but they were pretty mellow and willing to let me show them the lotion bars.
It was kind of cool, actually. The manager bought two. Then, two women who work at a hair salon for men bought one. And, they said I can come by the salon to show the Country Bunny Bath and Body products to the other people who work there.
Next, some guys smelled the lotion bars. One said he's interested, but he'd like to check out the other fragrances. I told him I'll come back another week.
It's a small bar, and there weren't a lot of people, so I just moved from group to group and they passed the tins around and commented on which they liked better, Peach Mango or Oatmeal Milk and Honey.
One woman said, "This needs to be rubbed on some boobies," as she slid her hands down over her own. She bought two of the Peach Mango Lotion Bars. Another is a bartender at another bar. She tried the Oatmeal Milk and Honey on her hands and loved it. She said to come by her bar on Friday night and she'll buy two of the Oatmeal Milk and Honey Lotion Bars.
Several other people said they were interested, but they didn't have money tonight. That's understandable.
I gave a small sample packet of Shea Butter (a thick lotion) in the Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance to all who bought something. I also gave one to those who seemed interested but said they didn't have the money tonight.
On the way home from the bar, I stopped by the video store and let the sales person there check out the Peach Mango and Oatmeal Milk and Honey Lotion Bars while I shopped. She seemed interested in maybe buying a lotion bar at some future date, so I left a card with her on my way out.
Now, my great dilemma is whether to invest more money on speculative purchases in the expectation that I can walk into places and sell them. Or, just wait until people actually order and pay me ahead of time.
The entrepreneur in me wants to push ahead full-steam and have the products in my hand and available when people want them. The person who spent too much on her credit card last month says I need to wait until I have orders before I buy more.
What do you think I should do? Offer advice, please! ;)
I just read Mermaid's thoughts about relationships. She speaks of need, insecurity, self-discovery, and personal growth in the context of her own relationship.
Joel skipped his 25th college reunion. I could identify.
This is the comment I left:
I've skipped all my reunions, too. I didn't even answer repeated requests for info for the many-years-later high school directory. I don't even like to send info to family directories. What's wrong with me?
I'm trying to practice being less reclusive and more social. :) That should be a joke, because I spend most of my time with other people. But, I am introverted by nature, and I enjoy time alone.
It all seems so ironic. After years of (feeling like I was) hiding away, I'm moving in career directions that require me to make use of the part of my personality that involves being warm and friendly while spending time with many people I do not know well.
I don't see it yet, but soon there should be a little sitemeter icon at the bottom of the window.
I'd like to see the number of visitors grow. :) It's fun to think someone has stopped by for a visit. If you do stop by, please say 'Hi!' in the comments.
I'd love for you to visit my store. Each person who has purchased something has told me they love the products and they want to order more.
Each one purchased something different, but so far, it looks like the lotion bars are everyone's first favorite. After trying and buying a lotion bar, each person has said she wants to buy another one. (So far, only women have purchased Country Bunny Bath and Body products from me).
Men, please know you are welcome here. We have two fragrances that were created especially for you. They both have a very manly scent, very masculine. A woman who smelled the samples of the masculine scents, said, "This smells like a man." Then, she told one of my male classmates, "If you were wearing this, I'd be all over you." He said, "hmmm".
The other night, I was up much of the night creating this new blog, writing my first entry, and setting up my profile. Somewhere in the midst of that, I changed some things in the profile and didn't keep track of what I had done. That was not good.
When, I tried to publish my first entry, www.blogger.com said I had to sign in again. When I tried to sign in again, it said my blog did not exist. No!No!No!No!
I sent a note to the blogger tech support people, but I didn't expect much from such a huge company. I didn't think my little blogging problem would really be their concern.
I was wrong. Not only did a tech support person respond to my distress. He followed through, asking questions and doing research, until I was reunited with my missing blog.
Recently, last Wednesday to be exact, I went from Tulsa, OK to Oklahoma City, OK with almost 200 Tulsa Technology Center students, teachers, and advisors to a statewide HOSA competition. HOSA stands for Health Occupations Students of America. During the opening ceremony, they announced that there were about 1,500 people in attendance. Most were high school students. Some, like our EMT and Paramedic group were post-secondary students.
The event lasted two and one half days. During the second of two days, while my CPR/1stAid partner and I were waiting for our turn at the CPR/1stAid skills competition, I happened upon a display of 'bath and body' products. It was very simple. Two women had set out an array of items on a folding-leg table in the lobby outside the conference hall at the hotel. I just happened to walk by and see their display.
Now, if you know me, you know I don't spend a lot of money on fru-fru bath and body items. But, these things caught my attention. First, they smelled wonderful - Peach Mango, Oatmeal Milk and Honey, Pearberry, Grapefruit and Lime. Next, they felt wonderful - smooth on my rough hands. What could I do but feel just a little happier? It was as if the sun had come through clouds and a fragrant breeze was wafting by.
One thing led to another, and I BOUGHT the item that smelled the HAPPIEST to me that day. It was a Peach Mango lotion bar. I had never heard of lotion bars. (I thought I was hopelessly out of touch, but I've asked around since then, and very few other people have heard of them either.)
A lotion bar looks like a small, decorative soap. But, it's lotion. It lasts a long, long time, because you just swipe it over your palms and knuckles and around your cuticles, and then you rub your hands together. It was truly amazing. My hands were dry from frequent hand washings during clinicals at hospitals and during my hours at work. After using a lotion bar, the 'sandpaper' feeling on my palms was replaced by totally smooth skin.
I was impressed enough that I bought the lotion bar. I was intrigued enough to ask one question after another (if you know me, you know this is my way) to learn more about these products. The women were knowledgeable and helpful, friendly and patient with my questions.
They told me these bath and body products are made with natural ingredients. The primary ingredients for the lotion bar I bought are beeswax, four vegetable oils (coconut, safflower, canola, and sweet almond oil), apricot kernel, and Vitamin E.
They told me their best customers are nurses, because they wash their hands so often, and they need something to keep their skin healthy and soft. Another advantage of these products, they said, is that they have no petroleum products in them. This is an especially important fact for people who wear latex gloves to protect themselves from potentially dangerous bodily fluids.
I gave this some thought. I didn't think long, but I thought hard. I'm already an EMT-Basic. I'll be an EMT-Paramedic soon. I'll be an RN after that. If I stay on track, I'll stay in school and do my BSN and MSN and NP training. But, that's a long way off.
I didn't think all those things, my entire educational future, in those moments. Mostly, was just thinking three things:
1) The lotion bar is wonderful. The fragrance feels 'happy' to me, and the bar has made my hands smooth in a matter of moments.
2) They say Nurses are their best customers. I'm on the road to becoming a nurse. I'll be around nurses for the rest of my working career.
3) How do I sign up??? I need more of this product for myself. I need to show this product to other people, so they can experience it, too.
In a very short time, not even half an hour, I had asked, "What do I need to do to sign up?" In a short time after that, I signed up to sell these wonderful lotion bars.
Q. Why? A. 1) They smell good. 2) They feel good on my skin. 3) They're made with natural ingredients. 4) I want more. 5) I want to tell other people about them.
Within an hour first sight of these lotion bars, I had joined the ranks of Country Bunny Bath and Body as Independent Representative Number 7733.
If you have purchased products online before, you will be familiar with the process. You look at pictures of the items. You read descriptions. You type the number of items you wish to purchase and click add. You continue shopping until you have selected everything you wish to purchase. You view your cart. You type in your credit card information and shipping address. The site is secure, using HTTPS secure server protocols. You can stop at any point up to where you click the final button to complete the transaction (after you have verified your purchase, billing, and shipping information).
If you are not comfortable ordering online, you can order by phone. Look through the web site and find the items you wish to purchase. Write down the names and prices of the items. Then, call the Country Bunny Bath and Body customer service center and TELL THEM YOU ARE A CUSTOMER OF REP # 7733. It is important that you give them my number. They will not sell to you if you do not have your own sales rep. I would like to be your sales representative for the Country Bunny products you purchase.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Thank you for looking at the high quality bath and body products I sell. I am delighted with this recent discovery. I trust you will be, too.
By the way, I'm Deb, Country Bunny Bath and Body Rep # 7733. I'm pleased to meet you.
jordanrep.com/10522 ** Bath,Body and Spa Products ** Easy to order online ** Internet Shopping via my online store is available 24-hours a day ** Delivered to your address ** CUSTOMER SERVICE answers your calls Monday through Friday (9am-5pm Central time)** 1-877-662-8669 ** Jordan Essentials Rep # 10522 **
Visit http://efolkmusic.org and type TEDDY BEAR in the search bar. I also am an independent rep for Jordan Essentials - bath body and spa. Visit my online store: http://jordanrep.com/10522
My interests are many. The interest which inspired this blog
is a line of bath and body products made with natural ingredients
(ex - beeswax, aloe, shea butter, sweet almond oil, coconut oil).
If you enjoy bath and body products made with ingredients
that sooth and smooth the skin and with fragrances that help you relax,
you'll love Jordan Essentials: Bath, Body and Spa products.
Another of my interests discussed in this blog is the human body in health, injury and disease.
Over the past few years I have taken science, CNA, EMT and nursing classes.
I have had positive experiences with kind and professional health care workers.
I have also experienced the pain of dealing with 'professionals' who behave unprofessionally.
My goal in interactions with patients and their families is to act with integrity and professionalism,
and to treat each person with the dignity and respect we all deserve.
Blogger's Random Question:
"Never mind the turtle. Don't you think you're sure to win?"
