The Heart of an Adventurer
I have always admired adventurous souls, those rare individuals who are genuine risk takers and walk fearlessly in life to bring us discoveries that make our own lives better. The more I get to know Jodi Hutchinson, founder of Darshän LLC, the more I believe that she is one of these adventurous souls.
Jodi Hutchinson's life has been greatly influenced by her family's diverse interests, including a holistic lifestyle, travel, and the arts, that fostered her strength, individuality and perseverance.
Jodi followed her pioneering heart and pursued the unknown and mostly male dominated profession of a Physician Assistant. In pursuit of her degree, Jodi was continually challenged by the uncertain future of the profession.
After graduating with honors in 1983, Jodi joined Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia, as a Physician Assistant in Cardiac Surgery. In 1986, she became Chief Physician Assistant of Cardiac Surgery at Christiana Care Hospital in Delaware. Jodi accompanied the heart team to China in 1991, where, despite language barriers, they met the challenging task of sharing knowledge and performing surgeries, in seemingly antiquated surroundings.
This enlightening experience would be the catalyst for Jodi to begin formally studying Eastern Philosophy and seeking the purpose of her life. In 2001, Jodi's heart called her away from her 18-year career in medicine to walk the world and allow life to lead her. Her vast Far Eastern journey included a solo trek across the Himalayan Mountains, something most of us only read about in our lifetime.
Eventually, her journey brought her to the shores of a Southern California beach. There, in 2003, Jodi was unexpectedly handed a box of face crèmes from India, and was presented with a business proposition. Intrigued by the product purity, Jodi wondered if it was practical for her to pursue such an endeavor. Before returning to the East Coast, a mystical encounter with a playful dolphin convinced her to follow her latest intuition and travel to India.
Here, again, Jodi broke another paradigm, when her knowledge of Indian medicine and philosophy impressed the well-educated family enough to offer a single woman from America the rights to sell their ancient skin care recipes.
Early in 2004, Jodi returned to India to finalize business plans. Jodi hired an interpreter and embarked on an arduous four-day journey through a mosquito-infested jungle, to walk with the tribal villagers and farmers. This would assure her that the people were being treated fairly and that the land and rivers were being harvested responsibly. Jodi told me, "The tribal villages were so primitive that it did not feel like I was in modern day India. Irrigation was by bucket and trough, and herbs were planted and harvested by hand. It was a walk back in time - 2000 years ago. I was particularly taken by the tribal women's beauty and inner harmony with nature that manifested into a physical expression of peace and radiance. They bathed at the river's edge in the mud that today is harvested and purified for one of Darshän's facial products."
Jodi's heartfelt affair with the wilds of India came to an end and she eagerly returned home to begin her next role as an entrepreneur in America. However, her high-spirited adventure took an unexpected turn after her arrival home. Jodi unknowingly had contracted a deadly form of malaria and was rushed to the hospital. She lay in a comatose-like state in the ICU, while the disease ravaged her body. Months later, she recounted to me her fascinating experience that her body was dying, but her spirit was alive, awake, and able to hear, yet felt no pain.
"I remember feeling so cold and tired before gently rolling out of my body. I was in an intense state of peace and I felt a love that was HUGE. At some point, I saw a skinny orange body and I remember thinking that is no longer me. Realizing I had to return, I began to squeeze my expanded spirit back into tiny arms, legs, fingers, and toes. It was like putting on a control top panty hose, two sizes, too small."
Jodi appeared to have suffered a left-sided stroke. Her math, reading, and writing skills were damaged, along with her physical ability to speak and walk. However, her spirit remained unshaken. With shear strength and determination, Jodi worked to rewire her mind and rebuild her body. Ironically, a walking stick, given years before by co-workers for trekking the Himalayas, now became her escort to the mailbox.
Her new business adventure had turned into an unusual gift. Determined, as always, Jodi pushed hard to recover her lost intellectual knowledge and design a new and improved body. This was "the gift" - peace and total acceptance, now a part of her forever. Jodi has made miraculous strides in her recovery and continues her physical conditioning and integration back into an active lifestyle.
Looking back at this whole experience, Jodi is more optimistic than ever. "I believe that everything comes to us for a reason. When asked if I would change the events of that night in the mosquito infested jungle, the answer is always the same: Nothing is as it appears, gifts come in disguise. I feel a new passion for life. Everyday is a new day for me. As owner of Darshän LLC, I have worn all the hats and have learned so much as an entrepreneur. I thought perhaps this assignment from life would vanish, but now I am more dedicated to bringing this high quality skin care product to everyone."
I feel doubly blessed to befriend Jodi Hutchinson, who is the epitome of what it means to live life to the fullest. To be honest, I am not the most adventurous soul. Nor am I sure that I would have the will to survive an "Indiana Jones" kind of lifestyle. Jodi's candor makes it possible for all of us to experience the way of an adventurer through her story. Her life is a testament to her company's philosophy of beauty...beyond appearance.
By Helen Heinmiller.
An author, speaker and the founder of Kids' Voices Count Project. Contact her at NewPossibilities@verizon.net