Everyday - I am asked why I started making soap, so here goes. . .
I have always been a creative soul - making mud pies as a kid, gardening, farming, creating adaptations for my clients with life altering disabilities, woodworking, quilting, sewing, crocheting, reading, etc. I am a Recreational Therapist by education and work experience (since 1990), then went back to Occupational Therapy school and became an OT in 2005. So teaching other folks about balance - I needed to find my way to decrease the stress of the ever changing medical profession and the decreasing compassion and healing nature of the administrations. So I started soaping in 2011.
The journey thus far has been is filled with many paths and roads. Some jaunts I thought deadness, just were different direction. The quest for more ways to make a difference in the world we live in and not become too salty or cynical, has also been bumpy, frustrating and challenging especially with the realization that the healthcare system that I fought so very hard to be a part of, is sadly disappointing. I became a therapist to make a difference - and my legacy is that I surely have. I have influenced that change through my touch, my words and my skills.
You can't change behavior - only influence it. Well . . . I am extremely passionate to be a warrior for those that cannot. I do have the poise (though difficult) to speak with clarity and reserve. But know that I also can explode like a bullet from a gun - when communication has failed. I truly believe that we can heal, grow and flourish in the company of plants, animals and kindness.
I was taught to seek first to understand, to be understood. (Steven Covey) So you may ask what does my education and approach to traditional medicine from a rehabilitation approach, have to do with making soap? Making herbal products? The frustration that I have witnessed in children, families and caregivers is difficult to comprehend. There have been many occasions where I have chopped wood, dug a hole, brushed a horse, ridden as hard as I could, and/or found laughter in the eyes of a child. My greatest pleasure is to hear my son laugh - at 19, it is rarer now, but I can still see the glimpse of his heart through the pureness of that laugh. I still see the wonder and fierceness of my daughter - who is amazing, kind and forgiving. Though the need to balance my own self - mind, body and soul - I soap.
I make to off-set the rigors of the world on my soul. But as my Dad told me - I "make soap, so that I can wash off the crap that I deal with." As a therapist, the evolution of providing services to those that need so much and a system that has decreased its giving - is unbelievable to me. So . . . I make soap.
Don't think that I didn't need something done for myself - as the stress of dealing with living - kinda got the best of me in 2007 when our dream home burnt to the ground. The Log Home that my husband and I designed and built ourselves, burnt. So very thankful that our family and friends jumped into to help. Well anyway - I started having reactions to foods that I ate - chicken, some vegetables, and let me tell you about itching!!! I questioned my physician and friend, Dr. Jane Kurcuz, wondering if I had systemic poison ivy! I am telling you- it was crazy, bumpy, itchy, and annoying. She told me - if you think the outside is messed up - I guarantee the inside is. Low and behold I wasn't crazy - I was just having histamine reactions which caused gut issues, skin issues, hair issues and more. Mood swings - oh yeah!!!! Hormone imbalance - you bet you. So doing elimination diets and completing food, preservative intolerance testing and more testing - it was discovered that well . . . what could I eat without a reaction? Deer and Turkey are my main meats/sources of proteins. After 13 years I now can eat chicken occasionally - but it totally depends on what else is going on regarding stress.
We have rebuilt our log home on the farm, we have watched our son grow up and graduate high school, our daughter is a senior this year, and I am now a part-time therapist and a full-time soaper - that happened due to COVID-19 pandemic. We are always evolving!
I have dearly loved being home, making, trying to do virtual tele-health, tending my herbs, planting my garden, harvesting, wildcrafting, playing with my animals, and being available and present for me and my family. When you sit back and watch the world become more chaotic, we utilized the skills to be sustainable and persevere. It has been wonderful, renewing and at times entertaining.
So in a nutshell - that is the story of Good Horse Scents - cause it just takes good common horse sense to use good products.
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