Hey there!

As many of you know I have left stacks of postcards around the valley to gather information about what people want to see in a natural market. The survey is pretty identical to the one on this blog. The response I am getting is amazing! Thank you to all of you that are reading my words because you sent a card back! My heart is bursting with the knowledge that even though our economic times are bleak a market like this would thrive in our community.

I want to take this chance to let you all know what me intentions are with this business and give you a little bit more background on me.

As I have mentioned before, community is so important to me. The people ("my people" as I like to refer to them) that I surround myself with are people who validate me and give me energy. In response, I try and actively send energy back to them through love and support for the choices they make in their lives. It is a beautiful thing to meet a new person and to feel that underlying sensation of having already known them... So often this happens in my life and I believe it is because I expect it and accept it happening.

As I imagine this market taking shape, I imagine myself looking toward the door as people walk in, people I have never met before, but at a gut level, know that I have known. This is so completely exciting to me! To think that I can and will create a space for our community to come together in encouragement and gratitude is humbling.

Lately I have found myself in conversations about the downtown businesses here in Monroe and the term "bedroom community" has come up. This term means that people live here but shop and work somewhere else. Thinking of "where I live" is the same as thinking of "what I do." "Where" and "what" in these phrases can be interchanged with the word "how". How I live... I live in a way that is gentle and supportive of the earth and all the people on it, more specifically, my community. How I do (whatever I do)... I try and do things thoughtfully, mindfully. It isn't the "what " and "where" that defines us, it's the "how", right? So to me the "bedroom community" label is just sad and something I would like to actively change...

So what is it going to take? What is it going to take to help a mom on a budget to change her thinking and convince her that it is better to stay in town to get her needs met than it is to make runs to Costco and Walmart? What is it going to take to get people who buy "new" clothes to make monthly rounds to the thrift stores on Main Street and find some deals? How can we convince the parent who buys tons of toys for her kids at the dollar store (they break in a minute but hey, they're cheap, right?) to step in to my friend Stashka's store, The Sassy Sprout, and buy one beautiful toy made from natural materials by a small, local company for more money? What kind of campaign do we need to launch to change the thinking of our "bedroom community?"

I have no answers to these questions, but I am more than willing to be a part of a campaign to not only find the answers, but to also help people live them. Who is with me?

Whoa. I am a bit on the rampage tonight. You all see how this relates to the market though, right? This will be so much more than a market, Sky Valley Natural Market will be my vehicle, OUR vehicle for changing our community.

I think I will stop while I am still making sense. Looking forward to getting some responses on this soon...

In Peace, Casey