I thought I would start this blog off with a little story introduction. The story is about how I chose the name Daughter of the Glade.
I had been reading about the concept of Branding – specifically how the word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company or service, and how it represents more than just a product, but values. My husband and I were discussing how we subconsciously brand ourselves, and how we work with other’s brands.
As an example, my husband is in a band. He wears a bandana on his forehead to keep his hair & sweat out of his eyes (stage lights get HOT), and a sweatband on his wrist to hold picks. This, unintentionally, became his brand image. If he would go to a gig without a bandana, band members & other people would comment. Fans brought him odd bandanas & sweatbands, so he now has a collection. If he wears bandanas in public, usually with the continued purpose of keeping hair or sweat out of his eyes, people will stop him and ask if he’s going to a gig. These items are linked to this public persona.
So we were discussing branding, and how we as people brand ourselves. How would I brand myself? I didn’t want to limit myself, or limit my blog to only one set of ideas, when I am interested in a wide variety of things. I am blessed to have a lot of different passions, and I want to be able to share them all. So we started listing my passions:
~ First and foremost, I am a psychotic environmentalist. I have been so since I was very young. This strong belief has manifested in innumerable ways, including my love of gardening, voluntary simplicity, communal living, and creative reusing (called “upcycling”). I even worked, many years ago, as an environmental lobbyist. It is no longer my career; I would like it to be, but it doesn’t keep food on my table.
~ I am a voracious reader. I’m usually reading 2 or 3 at a time, either fiction or non fiction doesn’t matter to me, as long as it’s interesting. I have a special love for fairy tales, and enjoy what I call “comparative mythology” As a friend once put it, my library card has lots of mileage on it. =) My love of reading has bled into a love a writing, which I am still working on, and this blog is an extension of that.
~ I love music. I love listening to it, I love dancing to it, and I love making it. I sing, I’ve been known to belly dance on occasion, and I play the violin badly. I’m still working on that last part. =/
~ I am female, and I love being a woman. I think it rocks. Some people would be confused about why that would be in my list, being a ‘given’, but my female-ness is such an important part of me, it colors everything I do.
~ I love jewelry. Not wearing it, but making it. Something about attaching tiny beads & things together into something beautiful, I LOVE it.
~ I also love, and can discuss to irritatingly great length, movies (esp classic horror films) Muppets, holistic healing, non traditional teaching techniques, baking & cooking, religion and spirituality, pendulums, Sci Fi / Fantasy anything… on & on.
We started trying to toss out phrases, a few words that would encompass ME. This is not easy. In fact, trying to sum up a person is down right complicated. Even the list was complicated, because which passions are forefront enough to be necessary for a definition of ME? Nothing seemed to fit, were too limiting or ambiguous.
Then my love tossed out “Daughter of the Glade”. It was a light bulb moment. It FIT – my love of nature and the earth, my relationship to it. I envisioned a woman dancing under the World Tree. This was perfect! It was also perfect because this is the title of one of my favorite songs by artist SJ Tucker, a stunningly creative, gifted woman around whom I become embarrassingly fan girl. But, I couldn’t use it without asking her first.
Next post is about how I got that permission.
