Living in a Liminal State
In February, I headed to the Modern Elder Academy, located in Baja, Mexico, to attend a workshop by Dr. Srikumar Rao and MEA co-founder, Chip Conley.
The topic description was inviting…
Imagine getting up in the morning “with your blood singing” at the thought of being who you are and doing what you do. Imagine moving through life with a deep sense of purpose, knowing that you are doing exactly what you were set on earth to do. Happiness expert Dr. Srikumar Rao says this is not a pipe dream. It is achievable and you can get there. The first step is to understand deep, deep down that this is possible and to determine that you’ll settle for nothing less. The next step is to begin your travel using proven tools. This may quite possibly take the rest of your life. But the destination is immaterial; the journey is all there is. After a while you’ll find that a lasting and ineffable joy is your constant companion. Join MEA co-founders Chip and Christine for an inspiring week with the inimitable happiness guru, Dr. Rao, for a week of fun and a most meaningful mindset shift.
Who is this workshop best suited for?
If “coming radiantly alive several times each day” sounds like a lofty yet enticing goal, this week could be for you. You will leave MEA feeling inspired about the future, your relationships will improve, stress will decrease, and what once seemed like insurmountable obstacles will become bumps in the road. Experience the potential for a quantum leap in your life.
It sounded great and I wanted all of it!
We spent most of the week exploring concepts around “mental chatter.” This is the noise in our mind that originates from the stories we tell ourselves and the inner critic who tries to keep us in check. We practiced ways to shift our internal narrative using tools such as humor or curiosity and even a session on “appreciative inquiry.” During one of our break-out groups Dr. Rao asked each of us to think of one thing we wanted to avoid, or a memory that brought us a sense of dread, and how we could feel or felt about it a year later.
Which brings me to my liminal state, beginning in December 2020, when my husband started a new job in Scottsdale, Arizona. We both love the desert and had talked about the idea of building a life out West. But, at that moment, picking up and moving from my home, trying to re-establish my business in a new community, and being far from my children, felt impossible for me to consider.
To help me broaden my perspective Jane and I asked Mike Finger, Founder of the Exit Oasis, to help us consider the long term view for ZEN.
As Mike started to navigate his way through our business, he asked me a simple question during one of our first sessions that stopped me in my tracks – “When are you going to stop “feeding” (aka investing in) ZEN?” He continued by saying, “Small businesses are insatiable and owners have a hard time resisting them.”
Stop investing in ZEN?!
Much like a child or a garden, Jane and I had spent 10 years carefully cultivating something that we loved. And, over time, like most small business owners, we found ourselves spending more time working in our business than on our business. So, I/we decided to take a step back and look at our business with a new pair of glasses.
And with this new perspective I knew in my heart it was time to transition ZEN. We were about to go into distribution with a large retailer in the midwest. This was an account we had pursued for several months. I asked Jane to help me do scenario planning and as we both studied the economics of entering a major new retail account, it was clear that it would be years before we earned back the costs we would incur to get into their stores, and the runway to a profitable business was becoming a long road with no certainty at the end.
It was a heart-breaking decision.
Ending a business is much like founding one. It takes a lot of care, strategic thinking, difficult conversations, and new ways of thinking. I am ever grateful to Jane that we agreed, as we had 10 years ago, to do it together.
We have no doubt that we made the right decision all those months ago. Soon afterward we learned that our longstanding social impact partner was going to have to close due to new legislation in Illinois. Then, as if ordained so that we would go out on a high, we became a USA Today top foodie find for 2021, and found ourselves benefiting from an entirely organic celebrity endorsement from Drew Barrymore!
Thankfully age does bring perspective. We knew that despite the continuing growth of our brand that we needed to close the door to ZEN before another door would open.
So, with that spirit in mind, I’m excited to share that Jane has launched a new business, Astute Ideas. As Astute Ideas comes to life in the U.K she is fulfilling a dream realized during her time at Zen – to help founders and food and beverage businesses navigate their growth and challenges more smoothly. Wrapped up within Astute Ideas is Jane’s desire to work with migrant food start ups in Bristol, providing business support.
And, as when I shared this period with my cohorts at MEA last February, I no longer felt a pang of sadness, rather I felt the joy of what we had accomplished over the past decade.
In closing, thank you for sharing your time with us over the past 10 years. While we will officially stop selling our blends by June 1st via Amazon, we will continue to keep our blog up so you can find your favorite recipes.
We have loved every email, conversation and moment online or in-person – it’s truly been an honor.
Please keep in touch!
With deep affection –
Meg
Author’s note – I have some individual blends in inventory that I would be happy to ship! Please send me a note to meg@thezenofslowcooking.com and I’ll put your order together!
Zen Moment
“Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological. It is not those events but rather the inner reorientation or self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life. Without a transition, a change is just a rearrangement of the furniture. Unless transition happens, the change won’t work.”
– William Bridges
