“so long, farewell…” A goodbye from J
Some of you may know that I went to India and Dubai recently. Life changing is an understatement. India – with all its yummy vegetarian food, colorful saris, ceremonies and natural beauty…India – poverty, the shopkeepers trying to get you to buy things you don’t need, hopping over cow dung, ayurvedic herbs, and the hair/body products….Yes, I brought home a lot of goodies!
india: view of the ganges (ganga) river from the entrance of the ashram
Dubai fully equipped with fancy malls, beautiful hotels, warm weather, jewelry, camel rides, and the gorgeous desert! Stark contrast to India! I could have lived in my hotel room!
dubai
dubai twin towers
But you can’t spend a month in India and not change. I changed in ways that will stay with me forever. I adapted quickly and easily to the simple life. Yes, we had email access, but I wasn’t very interested. Living in an ashram and not watching television for a month was a gift. Waking up at 3am, going to bed by 9pm. I got used to it. Yoga and meditation 6 hours a day – loved it! I took cold showers for a week before the hot water in my room could be fixed. I got used to it. It becomes crystal clear what’s important. There were many things I was thinking about/working on before I left that have now been set in motion. I am so blessed. Now is the perfect time to transition. In choosing to direct my energy towards those things, I will no longer be making regular contributions to this wonderful blog.
As a natural for 10+ years, I enjoyed sharing my experiences, knowledge and ideas. I’m really proud of what I’ve done in front and behind the scenes to contribute to this blog-turned-website’s success. What started off as a request to feature me on the blog in August 2008, became a successful partnership that lasted well over a year. Our brainstorming sessions resulted in the “Question for J” segment and several articles on natural haircare. I’m amazed and excited for what the blog has become! And for the future of this website! I’m honored to have been a part of that. My presence will remain in the form of my contributions in the information provided in the haircare tab. Leila, keep up the great work! Hold it down! For those of you on fotki, holla at me! Dream big, Do bigger! This is a movement baby!
Love, love and more love,
Jenteel
~j~
I’ll miss you, hope your new projects bring you joy and happiness!
Congratulations Jenteel! At some point, many of us realize what is best for ourselves, and that some of the things we focus on will be temporary. Wish you the best.
Thanks for all of the advice! Btw, your trip to India sounds amazing, can you share the details of the ashram? I’ve been thinking about doing that but didn’t know where to start.
Awww…!! Wishing you all the best in your new transition, you must be excited! You will be missed;-)!
Thank you for your help. Good luck on all your endeavors!
*pouting* i knew you would have such a great time in India — Sad to see you go, but youve made an indelible impression on many fotki friends (myself included) and BGLH viewers and I look forward to seeing more of your presence!
With a hug and a smile,
Lina
Thanks for everything J! We’ll miss you! Love & Blessings!!!
Bon chance nan lavi sa ki telman di, drol, e bel konsa.
(Good luck in this life, which is at once so hard, strange, and beautiful.)
New chapters and journeys are blessings.
Keep seeking out those lessons.
Keep learning.
Keep testing your limits.
Keep growing.
Happiness is all wrapped in those activities so don’t seek it out so much as keep on keeping on . . .
Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Peace & Loves
thank you guys so much!
@jc: i am happy – thanks for your positive thoughts and well wishes! keep doin what you do so well!
@angelyca: you are so wise!
@nalena: i stayed at parmath niketan in rishikesh; here’s the link – http://www.parmarth.com/home.html
@chai: i am super excited; it’s been blessing after blessing since i’ve returned! my heart is in haiti at the moment but i’m comforted by the recent survival stories. i believe in miracles! God is good!
@aisha: you’re very welcome!
@lina40: you know you’ll see me on fotki! you’re such a sweetie!
@khyla: i’ll still come by to visit
@ sandy: merci pareil. lavi sa drol empil, mais li douce! vos mots touchent mon coeur ma soeur!
hey jenteel, you’ll be missed but i can hear the passion in your “voice” about what’s to come for you. peace and blessings sis and please don’t be a stranger to the natural hair community!
Congratulations!
Thank you for all your contributions. Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. I’m so happy for you. Your experience is extremely motivating in itself.
May the blessings of God be with you
*this blog is so much bigger than us all*
Jenteel,
we will miss you but progress and growth is more important, best wishes on everything.
Mwaah!
Generally a lurker, but had to comment: Good luck, J. Thanks so much for the insight and hair wisdom.
BGLH has made a huge impact on my natural hair journey and I’m really glad to have had people like you and Leila to help out along the way.
Good luck!
Jenteel, I’ll see you on Fotki! What are your plans now?
aww…J, thanks for sharing your knowledge. Hope to see more pictures of your travels. I refuse to say goodbye -see you on Fotki!
Thank you. You have been an inspiration