So I posted a photo of the inside of my barn recently. A random busy day. Mid-project. Chaotic mess. It wasn’t staged. It wasn’t curated. It wasn’t meant to impress anyone.

But ohhh buddy, the internet had thoughts.

Some people saw that photo and felt seen. They messaged me saying “thank you,” or “this made me feel normal,” or “this is exactly what my barn/kitchen/life looks like right now and I needed to know I wasn’t the only one.”

And then there were the others. The ones who called me lazy. Disgraceful. A terrible homesteader. (One person actually called me a “typical Amish slob,” which I’m still not sure how to process. Impressive creativity, I guess?)

So in today’s episode, I’m talking about what it means to be real online. Because this whole messy barn thing?

It wasn’t about the barn.

It was about the fact that we live in a world where it feels risky to tell the truth. Where saying “this is what my life looks like right now” might get you support… or it might get you absolutely roasted by strangers who think they know better.

I think we need more “messy barn moments.” Not just barns, either. Kitchens with dishes stacked. Gardens with weeds. Lives in mid-process. Because when we share those honest pieces of our lives, we create space for other people to breathe.

So if your metaphorical barn is messy today, friend? You’re in good company. Keep showing up. Keep doing the work. And if you feel like sharing the messy middle of your journey with the rest of us—go for it.

That’s where the good stuff lives anyway.

Don’t miss the main topic, starting at time stamp 4:26

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