Decades of Not Knowing

As I was driving home from the gym this morning, I saw a couple walking into a furniture store.

The woman was about ten feet in front of the man and I had some vivid flashbacks. Mike & I

used to be this couple the first ten years of our marriage. “We need a new mattress, a new

couch, a new dresser, a new stove”......etc. I really believe with all of my heart, Mikey had a

slight knowledge already of the “new” and how it was not only unhealthy but also absolutely

unnecessary. I am laughing to myself as Mike also would be ten feet behind me heading into

the store. This poor guy has zero interest and does not want to participate. So where did this

“new” evolve from? Why is it we feel the need to update/improve/make things pretty?

I can only imagine the reactions I am silently receiving right now from everyone. Please hear me

out. We have been conformed at a young age with stores, HGTV, our mothers and other

entities. I understand when we purchase a home, we feel the need to fill every room. We need

to hit Pier One, Home Goods, Bernie & Phyls or Jordan’s. I remember my mom telling me when

she and my dad bought their first home, they could only afford to do one room at a time and

actually borrowed or received hand me downs. Nowadays, a hand me down is frowned upon.

The cycle is insane. Buy new, then 10 years later, redo.

Please know, I am not shaming. I am just trying to process and know how our world is already

suffering enough with everything that gets tossed out and rotting into our earth. When will we

stop buying and start being ok with what we have? What comes to mind right now is Jim

Carrey’s movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I understand what I write will not solve any of

this, but maybe put a thought in someone’s next purchase.

I wish we could be in a slower paced world where we all had the time to grow our own gardens,

make our own foods from scratch, serve others, put our family first and foremost(instead of our

careers), live with ease and less disease, eat less processed foods, lose our material and shiny

new thing mentality and just be. Now, I believe it is safe to say, many of you would agree with

the above. Why is it we are not taking steps to start this? Is it because we are so compliant?

As most of you know, Mike went into a spiral rut from 2017-2021 ish. I hate admitting this, but

this rut was a gift from God. He decided to prove he can do so many things without relying on

the bigger peeps(the one who controls) and because of it, we are living much more simply. As I

was leaving for the gym this morning, he was taking out all of the natural ingredients to make

toothpaste, deodorant and mouthwash. I need to be 100% transparent right now. I was not

completely on board with some of his natural product makes. I loved my Colgate toothpaste, my

Dove deodorant and my Listerine. I loved them because they were all I knew and then I found

out how toxic most of the stuff is that I am purchasing from stores. Let’s WAKE UP!

Mike did not just start making all of these things in the beginning by the way. He started with

char cloth(fire starter). He then put it on Ebay and started selling it. From there, Covid hit and

bread and donuts were on the way. I say this to let you know, it’s ok to start small. I get

overwhelmed easily. Grow some herbs and dry them for tea/seasonings. Grow some tomatoes

on your porch in a bucket and can them. Decide if your skin deserves store bought products or

something more natural which you can make in 5 minutes. Find something just for you which

feels gratifying!

My vibe seeing this couple this morning really made me stop and think of how I wish in my

thirties I started this! I do know shoulda, woulda or coulda will not change anything. I do know,

NOW is better than NEVER to start a simple way of life. Please feel free to reach out if you need

some encouragement or a nudge.

Much Love,

Sandi and Mikey