Our high-speed city slowed down just a bit with these 4 short weeks in a row. In-boxes are filling up with on-vacation auto-replies and getting a little traction requires a little more effort.
In April, we saw how our city that never sleeps is changing. In 2 days, designer labels were converted into HK$425,000 cash for charity by selling second-hand fashion from the closets of first-rate local celebrities. Pop Ups are popping up everywhere featuring local, organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, fresh, whole, tasty bits and bites.
This was all unheard of when I arrived on 15 May 1992, when HK Mag ran feature articles celebrating the outrageous spending habits of resident Tai Tai’s. The response when I wondered out loud about the air and water quality — this is Hong Kong. People don’t care about that stuff. If you don’t like it, leave.
I’m still here.
It might be just my little world, but now it seems everyone is excited about eating clean, getting healthy, buying consciously, working mindfully, paying it forward and bringing life into balance.
When I first started publishing heartbeat in 2001, most people who asked would nod politely (or roll their eyes) and say, “Good luck with that.” Few would respond with genuine excitement as though they had just met a long lost friend. Every once in a while, I would meet that banker who would first make sure no one was watching and then fold the directory in half and tuck it into their jacket pocket. Positive porn was born.
Every once in a while I still see eyes roll, but now we are all becoming friends.
Whether it is the arrival of social media, high-speed internet, smarter phones, efficient transportation, I can’t really say. What I can say, though, is that the Hong Kong I imagined 12 years ago is beginning to take shape before my eyes.
Over the past few months, I have been getting active on Facebook and Twitter, learning new code to upgrade the website for readers who asked for sharing tools and setting up payment channels to make it easier for you to invest in the future of heartbeat. There is much more to come and I welcome your input, ideas, suggestions and comments.
In a life as fast as ours, even I am surprised by just how quickly the change is happening.
What is changing for you?
Naturally,
Founder & Publisher
www.heartbeat.com.hk
natural life in the fast lane
Listen to your own heartbeat.
“He who rejects change is the architect of decay.” Harold Wilson
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Photo credit: Kinzie
