September 2023
Okay, I must admit, last week got kinda depressing…
Maybe that’s why I’ve been avoiding writing this post, still in the doom and gloom of the last one…
Start of recap:
Pervasive Self-Care Myth: You deserve the *$80 lotion*, *$600 dress*, *$1,200 coffee maker*…whatever your gazingus pins are.
I’m going to use lotion here for this example…
Continuation of Pervasive Self-Care Myth: “Yes, you could use the $10 drugstore lotion. But isn’t it so much better (And don’t you feel so better?) when you use the pricey $80 bottle that smells like gardens and money?”
Because: THINGS are just that (things!) and the MAGIC is us.
AND…
THINGS matter.
AND…this very much relates to our health, what we eat, do and buy around it. (Which if you really see what is going on is flat out depressing and would cause the biggest Pollyanna to feel defeated.)
End of recap.
I want so much to list the 100 ways it is all going to be okay or the 50 things you can do to keep yourself healthy and protected, or the 1 secret to making you feel better about everything.
Those are great headlines – but they aren’t honest. (Are any headlines honest? When were they last honest?)
Because like any tool we use, any items we use, any headlines we read, it’s about intention.
It’s always about intention.
With the lotion: taking care that it’s made with safe, healthy, supportive ingredients, maybe it smells nice, maybe it’s packaged pretty and you like looking at it every day. Are there negative consequences that you know of and are willing to accept?
With exercise: do you like it? Is it enjoyable? Does it support you, does it make you feel better? Are there negative consequences that you know of and are willing to accept?
With the diet: is it food that supports you, nourishes you, that you can quickly and easily access when needed. Are there negative consequences that you know of and are willing to accept?
Because there are always going to be tradeoffs with any item we use in our lives.
I eat chocolate a lot – not the healthy chocolate, the one full of sugar and processed stuff. I’d like to think I know the consequences and accept them. I may, I may not, but I’ve decided that I’m willing to take the risk. I also know it is likely that the chocolate I eat isn’t made in a healthy way for the employees, farmers, and the earth. I have to understand that THAT is also part of my choice to eat the chocolate. And why I keep seeking out different items to consume. (And likely why I now eat less – sometimes.)
We suck down information, hook, line and sinker without looking at the context of our lives or the context of the lives surrounding the creation of the information or product.
I cannot say it enough – intention, intention, intention.
If you ever find a friend that can feel intention/energy in people and in items, keep her/him close and learn.
That’s where the magic is in us – in how we choose to live our lives, how we choose to consume and interact.
There’s a possibility there is a “Magic Lotion.”
Here’s my vision:
- Made from all natural ingredients
- Ingredients harvested and processed by people paid beyond a fair wage and treated well by all around them
- Formulated in a place where people love what they do
- Packaged by and with products where, everyone is paid well and treated with dignity and respect
- Sold to/by people who genuinely love the product and the people and want to share that love with others
- And/or sold in a way that brings that care and love to as many people as possible so they also get “the magic”
It’s not that it can’t be done. It has been. But it takes time and care. And people. People being people.
People make the things. It’s the MAGIC in the people. And the MAGIC of the people in the things they create.
Imagine if we all really understood this.
Imagine a world like THAT.
And now make your choices and use your things.