Homemade toothpaste.

A neat article, written by a dentist who developed a recipe for home made toothpaste:

The Green Minimalist: Home made, Plastic free toothpaste.: Toothpaste has been one of the problems for my zero waste green lifestyle. We all go through them a lot and they almost always come in plast...

One

of the points that Donald Miller makes in his book, Through Painted Deserts, is that too often our culture focuses on answering "how" questions, because they're easier and allow us to be selfish and self-sufficient. How questions seek to fulfill personal goals for personal fulfilment. "How can I get a job? How can I make more money?" Why questions actually require some thought and some selflessness. "Why am I here? Why is there pain in the world? Why does color exist?"

Don said he'd ask, "What is beauty?" and receive the answer "Here are 5 steps to a successful marriage". How questions are at surface level, prone to easy answers. Asking why makes us smaller, makes us a part of the story of creation, not the protagonist of it.

So some women's health magazine periodically sends me emails. I received one today with a list of good resolutions to make for this new year. Various general, non-compelling ideas such as to read books recommended to you by former English teachers, to wear more colors for an attempt at a (false) positive attitude, etc. One said the following:

"Stop with the why-ning. "Why?" is a perfectly lovely question coming from a toddler, but not from you. Why am I stuck in this stupid job? Why don't I have a better boyfriend? A better question: "How?" How do I get a better job, a better guy?"

Oh how right Mr. Miller is about our culture and our simple seeking for simple answers. I resolve this year to dig deeper.

Oh, and I'm also going to start flossing.