Reflections on Holistic Entrepreneurship & Actualizing ‘A New Earth’ with Melan

R&B songstress and EatForBeautyDC founder Melan.

Note: This article was published in our OCT 2020 Issue on October 31, 2020.

I like to believe in a higher realm where our 'work' has the potential to be powerful on more than one level. It can feed the well-being of our individual and collective selves, as well as the well-being of the natural planet we live on. With a holistic lens, all aspects of life are covered. Its foundational principles are that we're all inherently interconnected, have a purpose, and as inhabitants of the Earth, reflect all the abundance we can find in nature: creation, resources, systems, designs. Nature doesn't lack, so why do we have to?

Nature is full of freedom, color, and creative expression, and if we look to ancient cultures and ways of being, we find that our ancestors used the Earth as a blueprint for what true abundance and wealth looks like. Work was defined by upholding the systems that kept things in harmony, and most importantly, centered community. Although not normalized in today's global economy, I believe many people of my generation have begun to reconnect with the idea of revolutionizing what 'work' is, showing that it doesn't have to fuel a hierarchical system of class division and oppression, compromise the flow of the natural planet, or be a sacrifice to one's physical, mental, emotional or spiritual health.

I like to imagine: What does a world look like where everyone is given the freedom to live in alignment with their heart's work?

Freedom allows for a release from fear, and less fear breeds more innovation and vibrancy. Everyone doing the work that makes them feel most activated, whole, and alive, driven by their natural skills and talent, births a new form of 'spiritual economics' where pure creativity is the currency of abundance and where there is no wealth without sustainability. It seems that centuries of structures have been built to prevent this natural alignment for human fulfillment: capitalism, patriarchy, and racism all create a stigma around poverty vs. wealth and attune us to living out of fear, lack, and competition vs. out of love, service, and heart-based action.

At EatForBeautyDC, we call the vision of this world "A New Earth", inspired by the consciousness-sparking book of the same title. In 2017, I co-founded EatForBeautyDC with Kaylah Miranda. It began as a virtual food diary on Instagram where we shared our experiences as aspiring raw vegans, highlighting the foods we ate that made us feel beautiful, and overall personal reflections on our relationships with food. The more we shared about our health journeys, the more we felt inspired to align with the lifestyles that supported our health goals: holistic, plant-based, sustainable. The platform has since evolved, and today we create content, experiences, and community to support natural urban living with a focus on living foods, self-sustainability, and self-awareness. We center accessibility to natural and sustainable living for POC and those living in urban/city-dwelling environments, and aim to bring forth a world where all beings’ Highest (most healthy, connected, abundant) Self can be supported and thrive.

Choosing a path of holistic entrepreneurship has been such a uniquely rewarding experience. Since my work is centered around amplifying healing and 'Highest-Self' activation, supporting my individual health and healing is always my first priority to show up for myself and create work that is energetically authentic and impactful. Building the business has automatically aided me in my growth as its vision is so intimately intertwined with my vision for my life. I still work through the challenges that many entrepreneurs face: surrendering to the unknown, clarifying streams of income, balancing my individual identity, and the identity of the business. But, overall, I feel guided by a vibration of true abundance as the work is guided by the heart and each offering we create is intended to support a healthy relationship with self, community, and the planet.

The concept of "A New Earth" has been a foundational inspiration for the business's broader mission. Although it's an interdimensional concept of the imagination, the rising resurgence of sacred teachings and practices such as spirituality, astrology, and self-healing are evidence of it growing. 2020 and all its many shifts have shown the challenges that come with the duality of the universe being revealed, but it has also revealed the potential for mass awakening. The disruption of the traditional work society has made way for us to go more deeply inward and see with even more clarity what needs healing individually and collectively.