Entering a Spring of Hope - a message from John, CEO

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way." Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859

Few quotes more aptly capture how the world feels today. Remarkably, Dickens penned those words 150 years ago when the world was a different place and when on the verge of Civil War here in the U.S., our nation felt every bit as grim. By comparison today and even with the oftentimes overwhelming uncertainty, I believe we are entering a spring of hope rather than a winter of despair. Here at Burt’s Bees, we remain committed to making people’s lives better every day naturally. We continue to look ahead knowing we will be a stronger company because we will rise to meet the challenge, together.

First, this is an epoch of belief and the spirit of hope can lift us! My wife and I were fortunate to attend the inaugural in Washington D.C. Yes, I was lifted by the soaring rhetoric and commanding intellect of our new President, but that wasn’t why I left with such a sense of spirit. What ignited me the most was the belief in the eyes of the millions of American and global citizens. The energy, the spirit of goodwill and the conviction of our national greatness was manifest in the millions who came together to celebrate our future potential as a people, a nation and a world united.

Second, while times are admittedly tough, let us remain grateful not grim. There are few things in life that we get to choose, but every morning as we greet the new day, we make a new choice - we choose our attitude. I have a grateful heart for the blessings and gifts that have transformed not only my life but the lives of others around me. What matters most in our lives? When we scrape away the trappings of material possessions from our collective vision, what do we see? Health, love, family -- these are the makings of happiness and a rich life. Let us indulge in these riches and give thanks with a grateful heart.

My third belief is that now, more than ever, we must comfort each other and become a community! In these trying times, it is our defensive instinct to protect ourselves first by spending less and giving less. Yet, these are the times when people need each other the most. Each of us has the power to make a piece of this world a better place by sharing our love, our gifts and our blessings with our neighbors. We must continue to remind each other to fill this charge; to serve one another and to care for one another. Now is not the time to hunker down, now is the time to lift ourselves up and, in so doing, lift those around us.

Yes, our times are tough, but with a belief in hope, a grateful heart and open hands to share our gifts, we can begin to recapture our future. This, I believe, is the true spirit of the people who gathered in Washington, around our nation and around the world on Jan 20th and is what continues to drive us as a global community towards a better tomorrow.

- John