As I was relaxing and enjoying a glass of beautiful red wine with a few guests after our first heartbeat SoulFood Social the other night, I suddenly realized that I had no photos to share — no selfies, no posed team shots in front of a giant plastic logo banner, no styled celebrities on the red carpet, no group shots of smiling faces holding drinks, no photographer on hand to ensure requisite media coverage for the event. No Facebook status updates. No Tweets. No Instagrams. Nothing to share on Tumblr or Pinterest or Flickr or Weibo or any other hot social sites we can’t get seem to enough of.
Nothing at all.
Just the love and warmth that filled the room on a cold and rainy December evening — and you’ll have to take my word for that.
As much as I would love to have pictures of everyone to share with you this week, I am genuinely that happy I don’t. Because every time I looked around me the other night, everyone was engaged in lively conversation with someone they had just met … having so much fun being consciously social in the real world that we dropped our social media addiction for a few hours.
I am grateful to celebrate this simple fact as evidence of a success.
The December calendar has been delayed to focus on the gathering, so I will tap into the power of social media to let you know what’s happening in the coming days. Terra Madre Day is happening on December 10 and Slow Food Hong Kong celebrates the annual festival with the local foods of Italy at Giando Italian Restaurant & Bar. Also on Wednesday, Annabelle Baker of Lush Cosmetics addresses the regular monthly Green Drinks to discuss whether Apathy is the biggest problem for the environment. The organizers of the Forever and Again tackle that problem by inviting you to exchange your clothing, books and accessories at their next swap party on Sunday in Kennedy Town. These are just a few of the many inspired events and programs sent in by our members — so much to do, so little time.
With our weekly selection of fresh listings on the heartbeat directory, you can breathe easier with Oxyvital, explore mindfulness with Kully Jaswal, share clean snacks at your holiday party with Sote, eat, shop and learn cook at Prune Organic Deli and take a creative approach to fitness with Pole Divas.
In case you missed it, here is my contribution to 24 Ways to a happy holiday that appeared in the SCMP last Monday with a few links to a few holiday essays I have shared over the years.
As the marketing machine kicks up a notch, reminding us to make sure we haven’t missed anyone or anything on our list, let’s remember that the most important things are the things that are important to us.
What new holiday traditions are you creating?
Founder & Producer
www.heartbeat.com.hk
natural life in the fast lane
Listen to your own heartbeat.
“The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor.” ~Hubert H. Humphrey
24 ways to Christmas (SCMP – Sunday 30 November 2014)
