Jo Davidson is a New York City-based musician whose songs have been praised as “the musical equivalent of Monet’s Tiger Lilies.”
At first glance, Jo Davidson appears to be the quintessential city girl. Take a moment to listen, though, and you’ll hear a deeper story. A multi-talented musician, composer, and instrumentalist, Jo makes her home in New York City, but her heart is rooted in wilder places. “The great thing about the City is that you are free to be out of the box. The pace is exciting and hedonistic, and it has a distinct pulse.” At the same time, she embraces her need to connect with the natural world for a sense of peace and creativity. “There is nothing more inspiring than nature,” Jo tells me. “It is the thread woven into everything we create.”
Jo’s music has appeared in many movies, television shows, and is played on top radio stations nationwide. She was featured on an Oprah compilation CD, and her music has been recorded by artists such as Meat Loaf. Her CDs include Kiss Me There, The Simply Said Sessions and two soul-stirring instrumental albums, Tell the Story and Merry Christmas & Happy New York.
Jo is also a photographer and hosts her own online radio show called Zentertainment Talk Radio. “It’s all about exploring possibilities and inspiring others with new ways of thinking and being,” she says. This show was born out of Jo’s own personal struggle with an illness called CFIDS/ME (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome/Myalgic Encephaloyelitis). “It is my way of making something possible for myself when many other paths at the moment are not.”
Zentertainment Talk Radio features interviews with best-selling authors, healers, environmental activists, and others who have overcome and learned through adversity. “This is a place to laugh, heal, learn, be inspired, and get connected.”
If that’s not farmgirl spirit, I don’t know what is! That’s why Jo was naturally drawn to MaryJanesFarm. “MaryJane keeps us connected. Her magazine appeals to the part of me that wants to slow down, that wants to live in sync with the seasons. I made biscuits using MaryJane’s Budget Mix, and my whole family agreed that they were the best biscuits in the world. MaryJane even makes me want to iron, and you have NO idea how big that is! Making a difference in the world really can start with one person. MaryJane is such an example of this.”
And making a dream come true starts with taking one step. “Even if you can only see what is right in front of you, take that one step. The future is made up of a bunch of moments called NOW. The sun sets, the sun rises—always, it rises. And in the morning, we have biscuits!”
You can listen to Zentertainment Talk Radio anytime at Zentertainment.org. While there, you can also listen to clips of Jo’s songs and order her CDs. Jo posts listeners’ stories, photos, poems, and quotes on her website, and she encourages all farmgirls to share.
Winnie Nielsen 
Megan 
Sharon D. 
Terry Steinmetz 
Eileen 
Daniele 
Karlyne 
Debbie Fischer 
I read this article last week as well and thought to myself that we still have so much to learn from the bees. Is their colony collapse like the dead canary in the coal mine? Are we refusing to see the truth and doing our usual excuse making to explain the blunt truth? Yes, adding Mark Winston’s book to the list of must read.
I love the “B” illustration; it’s such a beautiful picture of what we ought to be doing.
As for your question about whether or not humanity’s hive will respond… I’m an optimist by nature, but I’m beginning to wonder about the great mass of indifference and ignorance around me. But I’ll keep hoping!
Many years ago, there was a nationwide organization of medical doctors who formed a group called Physicians for Social Responsibility. Their focus was nuclear weaponry. They were an active bunch and brought Hiroshima survivors to our country to tour college campuses and speak about their experience. I traveled with them up and down the East Coast to lend a hand. One of the men lost his entire family. Half of his body (and face) was terribly disfigured from the blast. At one of the question/answer sessions, a woman stood up to say to the panel of doctors something like, “It’s madness and can’t possibly be stopped, I feel so hopeless.” His reply has been my clarion call ever since. “Perhaps, but in that moment, I want to be able to turn to my children and say, “I did everything I could.'”
I’ve always acted on the belief that any social change work I participate in isn’t a function of whether or not we (I) can accomplish it. It’s a function of it being the right thing to do. (It’s very freeing not to attach to an outcome. That just gets downright discouraging at times.) I want to be able to say to MYSELF, I did everything I could.
Well said !! That victim showed true wisdom and I will try to follow that vision when I get discouraged and start to fell hopeless.
MaryJane, surely a life changing moment for you when you heard what that survivor had to say. I love your take on that : “I want to be able to say to MYSELF, I did everything I could.”. That is the best advice I have heard in ages.
A wonderful mantra. If each one of us “did what we could” I can’t begin to imagine all the good that would floe over this earth. I also use another mantra that has been part of my life as long as I can remember: “may my daily contacts with others be of a positive nature.”