Thirteen years ago today, I sent out my first email newsletter with information about natural lifestyle products, services and programs available in Hong Kong. That was a lifetime ago in Hong Kong time.
It was 2001 and there was no Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn or WhatsApp or Skype or MeetUp to help us connect with people who share our interest in natural life in the fast lane. Mobile phones were great for calling or sending SMS but not much more. When I asked my programmer to set up a blog for me, he asked, “What’s a blog?” So I gave up on blogging and taught myself html.
At the time, finding natural options for conscious choices wasn’t easy. There were a few local street front shops but most were located on upper floor offices or hidden away on side streets and finding a meditation group meant knowing who to ask. The Natural Health Association organized regular talks to introduce our local practitioners and the Hong Kong Yoga Society connected teachers and helped students find them.
It was divine timing when I released the first edition of Natural Hong Kong in March 2003 at the height of SARS and we were waking up to a new view of personal health. When I pulled a directory of my bag, people were either delighted or they rolled their eyes at me like I was some kind of alien. Most rolled their eyes and left me for someone more interesting to talk to. But I was always excited by the one who glanced around to make sure no one was looking and carefully folded it in half and tucked it away into his suit pocket like porn.
That was then. This is now.
Everyone I meet tells me my timing is perfect, even though I thought so 13 years ago. Today, we have already lost sight of the convenience of digital and mostly we complain about social media intrusions and personal privacy while doing our best to manage the massive volume of digital communication and balance our real world connections. Hundreds of new natural lifestyle products are offered every day and nearly every brand is telling some version of a green story. Sifting through, looking deeper and finding what we’re looking for requires more effort than ever before — even though there are more people offering and more people looking.
Rather than getting easier, in some ways my task gets more challenging — sorting through volumes of content to establish what’s real and managing information and organizing the heartbeat network across a variety of information channels is equally exciting and exhausting. Then, every once in a while, I hear from someone who tells me that heartbeat saved their life — sometimes literally — when they landed in our concrete jungle. I have made many businesses matches and one marriage (that I know of) when 2 people met at an event they both found on the heartbeat calendar.
This week I invite you to consider joining our community as a personal member or applying to join us with a business membership to connect with people where they’re looking for you. Get involved in the conversation, join our events and contribute to the ongoing development of Hong Kong’s original natural lifestyle network. As the organizers of the Natural & Organic Products Expo experienced in August, we have a whole lot of fun when we get together.
If you’re up for it, you can Get Fresh in Hong Kong this week at the Harbourfront Bike Ride, PermaClub Saturdays, Umbrellas Reborn, Pop Up and Work Out, Flowing Stories of HK Village Life, Belly Dance Workshop, Drum Jam with Tap and more …
In the meantime, please continue sharing your #LoveAndPeace.
Naturally,
—
Founder & Publisher
www.heartbeat.com.hk
natural life in the fast lane
Listen to your own heartbeat.
“Peace cannot be achieved through violence,
it can only be attained through understanding.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
