Wednesday, 6th of April, 2016

It is always my goal to live in a state of love and peace, and to conduct myself as someone who is gentle and calm, but it seems that despite being this whole heartedly, on a daily basis, something happens that lights my fire and I become the opposite of peace and calm, I become a riled up fighter. It is a firey love, not hate that fuels me and so I accept it and try to use it. Really, every day I seem to get fired up over something. It is usually a quick burst, a little flame, and then I do my work and it goes out again. Of course sometimes the flame can last for days, and yes, sometimes there are bush fires that blaze for weeks. Luckily I have my friends who are my fire fighters. I know, I still need to explain FF>>

This morning, I was burning over a luxury children’s clothing company sending out a crowd funding email, asking me to promote it. They are looking to raise 300 000 British pounds to expand into boys wear. They have two bricks and mortar shops in the prime shopping districts Primrose Hill and Notting Hill. They sell to Selfridge’s and Barney’s and other top stores. Their clothes are very pretty and fancy and it is a lucrative business, as they say in the promotion.

When the email came through, I must have been on my high horse (do I ever get off?) because I was appalled. “What? They are asking for 300 00 pounds to make more clothes for wealthy children?” It felt like a moral barb poking at my gut. “That much money could do so much good! Imagine if I had that much money and what I could do with it? That is 600 000 AUD!” I still often think in Australian dollars, it is very grounding to be aware of the stock exchange, and I generally look at the world currency market daily. 300 000 British pounds  is equal to 2,190,278,559 Zambian Kwacha (Which is one of the worlds poorest economies).

So I did what I always do. I wrote a letter back telling them what I thought. You know, I really think every voice counts and when so many people sit silently in fear because they want to be nice, it worries me. I have been liberated by knowing I am allowed to speak up.

Dear Friends,

I am sorry, but I am appalled that you are looking to crowd fund for a boys line. Imagine if you were crowd funding to feed and give shelter to starving boys instead? What has the world come to? Wealthy people asking for money to make more luxury items!

Kirsten

Then of course, they were very polite and wrote back to me, saying they were sorry they had offended me and that it was not unusual for business to seek private investment. I was not done for the day though and had more to say. See I used to love this brand, and my girls wore it, I felt special being able to buy it, but then when I realised that synthetic fabrics are basically plastic and they don’t decompose, and sequins are incredibly damaging too, and there was all this frou frou with it, and it made me feel something was not right by supporting it. Intuitively I had to step away from the brand. The fancy dresses were expensive, and they had to be dry cleaned (insert grimace face). By owning one I felt I had to keep it because it was an investment, but it just became a physical repulsion for me when I touched those star dressed. Like my hand shriveled up and died. So I put them in a box and hid them in the basement. Burying things you don’t want to deal with in the basement or a storage shed or the EARTH is not uncommon for people.

So I have this whole sadness over the brand because of the fabrics they use and how the clothes are made. I evolved as a consumer and I met Emily at Mabo Kids and I gained a strong understanding that a business woman can work hard and make good choices for both the brand, her family and the planet, and the world will support it. And there is really no excuse, and because I know plenty of women doing it right. Then I had to write back one more time.

Do I want to be the moral police? Absolutely not. I just want to hang out on the beach in Byron Bay, but it seems, I have no choice. I was raised this way. It would be much nicer to be in a space of pure free love, and to only support that which I  L O V E but it seems, then I would be just dealing with one side of the reality, and some people will only ever wake up if you say something tough or confronting to them (me included).

Disclaimer: Synthetic fabrics hold a place in this world, but they must be produced, purchased and discarded of wisely. It is helpful to know that synthetic fabrics are long-lasting, polyester is made from oil, it last forever, if you like fast fashion, if you like lots of change, if you like to buy yourself and your children lots of clothes, then buy cotton. 100% cotton clothes are becoming harder to find. Cotton is being replaced with poly-cotton blends, viscose and acetate which are all highly processed fibers, causing pollution. We should not be wearing non renewable fossil fuels. Read labels. Be cotton seekers.

There have been numerous letters I have written over the years encouraging designers to go the extra distance, and I know it can be hard, but it is so worth it, not just for you, but for all of that which lives. Every effort counts. Be strong voices.

This is our real life, filled with other real life people, and real life people need to wake up each day knowing that we are all working towards a greater good and inner peace for all, not just ourselves. Corporations and imaginary characters make individuals unaccountable, and so when you actually know what is what and who is who and everyone is actually connected, then there are no excuses, you do not feel separate, and this brings forth truth and honesty, things become clear.

As always, when it comes to sharing with this honestly, of exactly who I am and how I am, I feel this fear rise up. “What will people think? Will they think I am crazy? Will they think I am mean, that I say, hey you already have a lot, I want to take all that money and give it to poor people?” I hear that inner voice of self doubt, and then I take a big deep breath, and I say to myself “Kirsten, you can not look to others for validation, you have to know in yourself, what is right for you.” I know I am tapped into the universe and creation in a deep way and while I feel for women getting their feelings hurt (myself included), I know we can find healing in helping less privileged child thrive. I gulp down a glass of courage, in the form of clean pure clear water, and I say, “Yep, it feels good to be me! I am a free spirit.” Let’s just hope I stay out of social jail.

Thank you for reading Magnesium Blue