Owning it in 2024

This recent instagram post made me laugh. Then it made me think. And, then I realized it contained an important lesson for all of us as we enter 2024.

On the first slide it reads:

• I’m a stay at home mom who bakes sourdough

On the second slide it read:

• I don’t wear aprons
• I don’t homestead
• I am not religious
• I don’t homeschool my kids
• I don’t serve my husband, I work with him
• I just bake bread

I just bake bread

There is always a hint of truth to anything funny. And, that is 100% the case with this post.

You don’t have to be all of them

Except for the husband serving thing, there is nothing wrong with any of these qualities the author is reacting to.  In fact, they are virtuous. Someone who embodies all of them is thoughtful and most certainly working hard towards nourishing themselves and their families. But, what this post is responding to is the perception in the ancestral/traditional health communities that if one of these things is important to you then you automatically need to be all of them to somehow be complete, or whole, or genuine. Shattering that artificial expectation is exactly what made the Instagram post so great. The reality is you DON’T HAVE TO BE ALL OF THEM to still be a part of this amazing community of people that care deeply about their health, their families, their communities and the world around them. It is not an “all or nothing” club. 

We need to focus on what we all have in common instead of aspects of our lives that can cause division. Especially, when we are all after the same end goal – nourishing ourselves and our families.

All or nothing needs to change

I know I have written about this before, but I am bringing it up again here. This type of “all or nothing” approach to food, diet and health is polarizing. It is alienating. It is exclusive. It may help you and the people around you, but your circle of influence will be very, very small. The idea that someone who believes in the nourishing qualities of meat has to be a full carnivore is ridiculous. Or, if someone is keto and indulges in an occasional slice of sourdough bread they are no longer part of the keto world. Or, that if you hunt or believe in food sovereignty or raw milk that automatically aligns you with a particular political affiliation is ludicrous. 

I agree with the underlying message that being genuinely healthy and nourished requires so much more than just a healthy diet. After all, nourishing us complex humans is complex in and of itself. But, creating an artificial set of requirements for someone else to live up to simply sets them up for failure. The human experience and what it takes to achieve full nourishment is individual. What is required to nourish you biologically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally is and should be very different from someone else. And, moreover, it is contextual. What is required to nourish you today will ultimately change during a different stage in your life.  

It’s about being thoughtful

Nourishment comes in many different forms, but begins by being true to yourself. Goals are important. But, they need to be selective and purposeful to be a powerful force in your life driving you towards a better YOU. When you select goals based on an identity that is not your own you don’t create a healthy future, instead you create the opposite – an unrealistic expectation of yourself that is most likely unattainable. And, in those rare circumstances it is attained, it is not a genuine place to be. There is nothing nourishing about that.

It is about being thoughtful. Thoughtful about where our food comes from. Thoughtful about nourishing ourselves, our families and our communities. Thoughtful about the consequences of our actions. Individual agency is expressed through the way in which we put into action our own set of beliefs – but the fact that we care, think deeply, look to the past for inspiration and information, and do something is what creates the common ground that binds us all together.

Take it back a notch

As I worked through the draft of this post I realized something else. This post was just as alienating as the message it was responding to. I wondered what if the author of the post reacted in a different way? What if she took a step back and focused on larger intentions behind making the decisions to homestead, homeschool or even bake sourdough bread? Take, for example, the carnivore/vegan debate which, on the surface, are polar opposites of one another.

If we step back and look at what the members of each “camp” are trying to achieve with their dietary decisions we can find a ton of common ground. Thoughtful vegans and carnivores, regardless of their decisions to be meat- or plant-based, are working towards creating a nourishing, ethical and sustainable food system, and, as a result, share a lot of similarities. How they put their goals into practice is what separates them.

Instead of:

• I’m a stay at home mom who bakes sourdough
• I don’t wear aprons
• I don’t homestead
• I am not religious
• I don’t homeschool my kids
• I don’t serve my husband, I work with him
• I just bake bread

An inclusive message

That message is different. That message creates a set of goals we can ALL aspire to and, most importantly, reach in our own, nuanced ways. That message is inclusive.

So, this is the year to own it. 

Whoever you are.

Whatever you are.

However you chose to nourish yourself and your family and your community – if you are doing so in a thoughtful, caring, inclusive way you are a part of our community.

And, I look forward to cooking, eating, and living our way toward the most nourished year ever!
Bill