February 1, 2023

Hi Friends,

In my last note I shared the Ancient Greek phrase, ‘know thyself’ as my resolution for the year. This is proving more challenging than the simple two-word phrase leads on. After further inspection, I can conclude that I am mostly an enigma to myself. It’s a humbling notion given I’ve spent nearly four decades living with…well… myself.   

In my haste to prove my value through busyness, accomplishments and life events, along with the general pageantry of playing the roles of modern life, I embarked on A Great Forgetting. An adult life running away from all the things that make us different. A shedding of authenticity so vast and thorough that losing oneself is inevitable. As children, we embark on life’s journeys with a basketful of what is truly ours. Our joys, our loves, activities that make us glow and the cultures that shape our inner sculpture. As adults, with fastidious attention we drop each one along the way. We can forget our roots, missions, dreams, joys or the activities, constitutions, relationships that make us who we are. 

Each time something is dropped or Forgotten, there is fear behind it. A fear of sticking out, a fear of rejection, a fear of failure, a fear of success, a fear of missing out, a fear of ridicule, a fear of fear. I  know I’m a scardy cat. 

So now, we have to embark on A Great Remembering. Doing the things that our inner little children loved to do, for no other reason than for the pleasure of it. Practicing the traditions and ideals of the cultures that make us who we are. Waking up with fear, and feeling our way through it rather than running from it. Greeting each day with the true essence of who we were before the world told us who we should be. 

As I embark on my Great Remembering, I flipping through the catalog of crossroads where I Forgot. Every time I was bullied as a child, every time my immigration status or race was held against me, every time I felt too scared to try, every time I felt too scared to succeed. Each time, I learn to face and not run from the emotions. Each time, I get a little closer to remembering.

Societies, families, corporations, cultures and anything that involves the gathering of humans, is at risk of going through a Great Forgetting. Fear allows forces to make us think we need to barter our best values away.

Veneka’s raison d’etre is to be a vehicle for a better world. We’re focusing on closets, which are deeply broken for our lives, our planet and global community.  We aim to empower your best life and be worthy of your time, attention and resources. Last week, we were brainstorming ways that we can develop a greater sense of community around this mission, with you all and connect you to each other. You are truly remarkable, compassionate, intelligent and powerful women. The best we came up with was 'let’s ask them'. This way, we won’t let our stories get in the way of your truth. We won’t begin a Great Forgetting. We can stay true to our mission by providing something that will actually be useful and worthy of you all. 

So in this survey, we’re asking you what you’d like more of, in what ways you’d like to connect with each other and us, and how we can help support your sustainability journey. As a special thank you for taking this quiz, you’ll get $5 off code at the end of the survey.

Thank you for ensuring we never forget why we exist and helping us be worthy of you. 

Shivika and the entire Veneka team

P.s., you can reach me anytime on Twitter or Instagram