As the days and weeks fly by here we are finding the support of family and friends to be sustaining for us and the project as a whole. The last year has been a very challenging year for many. We are social animals by design, able to accomplish great things when we work together with a common cause. Being locked down, isolated and denied the human contact we need to thrive has had consequences on the human psyche that have not been defined on the national stage but are very present and potent to the individuals struggling with them. We were never meant to be isolated. The introvert probably fared a little better than the extroverted among us, but preferring your own company never really meant being without any companionship at all, did it?
The Original Neanderthal started out as an idea in my head, and it began to gain life when my family and friends validated it and added to it. Some gave great slogan suggestions, some gave product ideas, some just encouraged us to give it a try. As it began to get some traction, the encouragement and interest facilitated its growth into a viable entity.
I am pretty far outside my comfort zone here. I am doing things I never imagined I would ever have a reason or an opportunity to do. I am putting money at risk as I invest it on the chance that it might become something of value to more folks than just myself and the circle of supporters who encourage us. I am learning a lot of things I would never have been exposed to were I not pushing towards a goal. That goal, though still far out there moves closer with each little shuffling step taken.
We have hit dead ends trying to source product only to find another source pop up on random searches of the internet and/or discussions with family and friends. This route looks great…oh no…it wasn’t quite…so we reach out and find another. We spend some money here and then we discover there was a better way we just didn’t know about until we went down the wrong path. We discover things that in hindsight look so intuitive. I begrudge no lesson learned here, there are no mistakes just learning opportunities.
Someone suggests something and we check it out to find its great, then someone suggests something else and it is not so much, but the suggestions themselves have a value far beyond the immediate need they address. The suggestions demonstrate an interest and that interest inspires more activity and drives the little venture forward. The effort, were it mine alone, would have crashed and burned somewhere before takeoff. It is not mine alone anymore; it is a collective effort fueled by the interest and energy thrown its way. Kudos to those who ask how it is going, and then listen with interest. More kudos to those with suggestions. None are ignored as we put everything together towards launch day.
Reading an article from the Smithsonian Magazine titled Rethinking Neanderthals, I discovered that the Neanderthals were inclined to live in small family type groups of 10 to 15 individuals, that they may have had a central butchery area where big game was brought to be worked up and perhaps divided up. The small family groups appeared to perhaps work with other small family groups to survive the harsh environment that plagued their centuries on this planet. Scientists are coming to believe that the Neanderthals were not that different from modern humans; their brain size was very similar to ours. They were biologically designed to survive harsher climates in that they were more compact and physically stronger than modern humans. And evidence from excavations is proving that even Neanderthals needed family and friends to survive.
We are together going to accomplish great things!
Theoriginalneanderthal 