Janey Ganson is the founder of My Daughter Fragrances.
Joy, where are you?
Joy, we seek it, chase it, long for it.
Where are you joy? Are you here, or are you out there? It’s always there… joy, somehow squished in the cosmic sandwich. A ray of light hovering above us, even when sadness shows up like she runs the show. What we feel comes from what we believe.
Growing up in the prairies of Alberta, imagination was everything for me. Playing Laura Ingalls was a pastime for me. In my imagination I was her, creating my latest adventures in my head. Creativity was a literal pastime. It didn’t matter if it was glorious mud pies with fresh Alberta wild roses on top or making collections of sticks and leaves and shoving them in containers to make up magical tinctures for made-up ailments. It was fun! But most importantly, I believed I was her, and what that did for me is allow my girl-child feelings to be those of adventure and happiness. It allowed me to embrace a sense of curiosity and discovery that I still hold to this day.
Right now, it’s barely 2021, and all I can think of is the year 2020, a literal poop on a cracker of a year. The meme of “if 2020 was a potato chip flavour, it would be toothpaste and orange juice” – now that is hilarious! My business, family, and day-to-day life look completely different. Even the contents of my fridge look different. My ability to transform, adapt, and change are being put to the test. That’s really all life is. I am just being pushed to reshape it and do it quicker than ever before. Finding that creative juice, and business fortitude when the world is upside down has been life-changing, but you know what? I am figuring it out. I don’t even want to use the “C” word, but I used it as a creative adventure, a time to ponder, but most importantly, a time to FEEL differently about everything! And what I discovered after months of this, is that joy is actually right here with us, literally sitting just above. She can be kind of hazy, but she’s right here.
