The principle of charity, the pure love of our fellow beings, has been and will be a lifetime endeavor. I’ve got a long way to go before I come anywhere close to getting good at it, but the journey has been rewarding and the effort worthwhile. The thing about it, though, is that it has to be done on a one-on-one basis. There is no blanket answer to loving another person, whether we know them well or not. I can’t just say, “I love you all, so very, very much”, and believe that one size fits all! It takes getting in the trenches, getting down and dirty with another person who needs some help, to really know what another needs and if I have that to offer.
What I’m striving to do with my personal care products business is to include that principle of individual worth and needs into each product. It’s truly my motivation.
I started soaping because I needed something different from what was on the market in general. I needed something that was good to my skin, something I could live with, and something that had my own personal touch involved. I love it that I can create different soaps and lotions that offer different qualities that meet different needs. My friend C’s skin is too dry for commercial products and even for many other handcrafted products, but I can make her something that works for her. My husband gets really grody at work, and I can make a soap that scrubs the gunk off his hands but leaves his skin soft and intact. I think of different people who I know, their needs, and I begin creating (my SIL calls is brewing!) something for them.
Much of my research and development, my R&D, my song and joy, is driven by who I know that needs something specific, and then I get to find out if it works for them by having them be my testers, giving me feedback in candid and constructive ways that I truly need. We both gain from this loving principle!
Ana Baird
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