July 6, 2023 – Sonder Tri and All the Yellow

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Sonder
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Sonder
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Sonder

Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. I’m sure u/mammothben knew that when he titled it – he’s a thoughtful guy who considers others well. I strive to be similar and, after shaving with Sonder for all of August last year I grew in my affections both for this scent and for the concept of Sonder.

The scent opens beautifully with a complex yet light citrus and then settles down into a soft blend of sandalwood and something green. It tickles the olfactory bulb in all the right places and, in spite of using it for 30 days straight for AA, I have not grown a single percent tired of this scent. It is outstanding.

As for Sonder, well, much could be said about the concept but it is a one that each of us should become familiar with – it’ll help you grow in compassion and empathy in every relationship you have from your own child (who you usually adore) to the neighbors who continue to shoot off fireworks on July 6th (a full two days after they should be done). It takes work, you’ll mess up and forget, but – it’s freeing to realize that just because someone tells you off doesn’t mean they hate you – maybe they had a bad morning or their parent has a chronic illness or any number of things that probably aren’t about you. It changes the way you interact with your spouse because yes, you do forget that they’re a person with a whole life, too – and their life isn’t just about you. It’ll change how you parent – your kids are people, too! And, lastly – it’ll change how you approach these lather games; you’ll understand the judges have way too many posts to read and you don’t have that much interesting stuff to say, anyway – so you’ll mercifully shorten them up.

All that said – consider Sonder. Learn it, live it, let it impact your interactions with all varieties of people. Yes, even the ones you loathe.

And here’s the stack that includes my brand new Summer Break handle (Dundy) that just came in today courtesy of u/rocket455 – it’s got a motherlode in it for now but is worthy of a much better knot than this! My son, who loves yellow, took 1 look at it and immediately exclaimed, "when I'm big and shave, I'm going to use that brush!"

FOF Haiku of the day

Bright shining greenscape
Intoxicating my nose
Could use this always

**July 6, 2023 – Sonder Tri and All the Yellow**

* **Brush:** Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
* **Razor:** Blackland Blackbird Lite
* **Blade:** Gillette Silver Blue
* **Lather:** House of Mammoth – Sonder
* **Post Shave:** House of Mammoth – Sonder
* **Fragrance:** House of Mammoth – Sonder

Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. I’m sure u/mammothben knew that when he titled it – he’s a thoughtful guy who considers others well. I strive to be similar and, after shaving with Sonder for all of August last year I grew in my affections both for this scent and for the concept of Sonder.

The scent opens beautifully with a complex yet light citrus and then settles down into a soft blend of sandalwood and something green. It tickles the olfactory bulb in all the right places and, in spite of using it for 30 days straight for AA, I have not grown a single percent tired of this scent. It is outstanding.

As for Sonder, well, much could be said about the concept but it is a one that each of us should become familiar with – it’ll help you grow in compassion and empathy in every relationship you have from your own child (who you usually adore) to the neighbors who continue to shoot off fireworks on July 6th (a _full two days_ after they should be done). It takes work, you’ll mess up and forget, but – it’s freeing to realize that just because someone tells you off doesn’t mean they hate you – maybe they had a bad morning or their parent has a chronic illness or any number of things that probably aren’t about you. It changes the way you interact with your spouse because yes, you do forget that they’re a person with a whole life, too – and their life isn’t just about you. It’ll change how you parent – your kids are people, too! And, lastly – it’ll change how you approach these lather games; you’ll understand the judges have way too many posts to read and you don’t have that much interesting stuff to say, anyway – so you’ll mercifully shorten them up.

All that said – consider Sonder. Learn it, live it, let it impact your interactions with all varieties of people. Yes, even the ones you loathe.

And here’s the [stack](https://imgur.com/a/FJuYBrx) that includes my brand new Summer Break handle (Dundy) that just came in today courtesy of u/rocket455 – it’s got a motherlode in it for now but is worthy of a much better knot than this! My son, who loves yellow, took 1 look at it and immediately exclaimed, "when I'm big and shave, I'm going to use _that brush_!"

#FOF Haiku of the day
Bright shining greenscape
Intoxicating my nose
Could use this always