Why is May My Favorite Month?

May is the reawakening of life, Mother's Day, my birthdate, and joy from scented flowers filling the air:  Everything from lilac, lily of the valley, irises, wisteria, miniature roses, gardenias, magnolias and wild honeysuckle--and ALL outdoors. Soon, there will be my favorites:  Peonies and roses that come in a rainbow of colors from pure white to to shades of purple, pink and red.  This past weekend like every day of my life, I honor my mother for all that she has taught me:  To be compassionate, nonjudgemental, empathetic, honest and to be kind to to others. I also owe a lot to my mother and my grandmother who helped nurture me, accept me as a dreamer and an artist and let me be free to the express my self creatively. Much of my creativity comes from being inspired by the beauty and scent of nature. 

Having a new year around the sun doesn't slow me down. I may not have clocked as many hours in front of my computer, nor taken the daily Metro North into the city for work, because I have chosen to change the way I lived for the better.  As life has gone on, I realize that my self-care, self-worth and self-esteem is more important than money and things. In fact, George Carlin's 1981 monologue "Stuff" is one of my favorite monologues of all time as his humor makes fun of our neurosis, materialism, and this monologue is timeless.  If you have not heard it, find it on YouTube.  For me, it was a call to action, and when I left Connecticut for Atlanta in the spring of 2021, I got rid of stuff. Not just material things, but things that were occupying my mind, and absorbing my energy - and I'm still getting rid of things I don't need, want or care about anymore.  I had gone from that caterpillar who inched its way across a leaf and when the right time came, transitioned into a butterfly and fluttered away to rest on flowers and enjoy its freedom. 

A few months ago I launched a new brand called Scent Therapy Calm™ that I had wanted to market back in 2019, but the pandemic interfered with my plans, as it did with everyone else's I'm sure. When I started receiving calls and messages on Linkedin from people in the holistic medical and well-being spaces about how scent can be used for wellbeing, I had another call to action and revisited the 100% all natural perfume formula that I had stored for several years in my closet back in Connecticut and transported it with me when I moved.  The 2018 formula was developed for me by a master perfumer who specializes in natural perfumery and holistic Ayurveda formulations was a "must keep" when I sorted through all of my stuff in my over stuffed closet full of various formulations, packaging materials, research and other stuff. Sometimes, it's really the simple but special, things that matter the most.  

You have heard the idiom, "timing is everything" and I decided to make 2023 another year of change and take action on some ambitious and challenging initiatives that I have kept stored in my mind for years. Time ticks by and I'm not going to go away until I feel my journey is complete. Thinking back to 2022 when I was still trying to find my way through what friends said was a "brave" thing to do, I went on a month-long solitary sejour to a small village outside of Paris with a goal to pull myself together. Some days I did not even talk to anyone. I practiced mindfulness and yoga; I listened to a lot of music - everything from Led Zeppelin to Chopin, some blues and jazz; did creative cooking using whatever I had in the refrigerator; took many photos experimenting with the still-life-of-things considered boring or dull in order to give them life; took many walks within the village with the scent of redolent roses that created a halo over the village; wrote in my diary - and - I pulled together yet another fragrance concept that had lingered in the back of my mind for decades based on a very popular psychological concept that studied in college:  Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

If you have read this blog until here, then kudos to you, you are in the "know" for my next project:  Scent Therapy - Hierarchy Of Needs™.  As with the concept, there are five layers in the shape of a pyramid, so there will be five fragrances being introduced with the first to come very soon. Scent Therapy - Hierarchy of Needs™.  The first to come out will be "Water" which is the basis of life, for without water, there is no life.  "Water: will be followed by "Sanctuary" representing the need for security and safety; "Love" represents the need to belong, to love and be loved and for connectivity with each other. "Freedom" needs no explanation, as we should all be free, and finally, "Full Bloom" for self-actualization.  Full Bloom came to me when I was in that village and became that Eureka! moment. Yes....I know...it is a general "rule of thumb" that companies do not talk about their launches in advance of a press release, but what I do and create isn't considered mainstream anyway. I go against the usual grain, I've survived so far, and I am happy.