Porch Goat’s creed:
You don’t have to silence someone else’s voice to strengthen your own.
Build a bigger microphone.
Then say something worth hearing.

Who Exactly Is the Porch Goat? 🐐

You may have noticed a goat wandering around our Facebook feed lately.

And you may be wondering…

Who exactly is the Porch Goat?

Well, there’s a story behind him.

Years ago, I learned something that has served me pretty well in life:

Protect your goat.

We’ve all heard the expression “get your goat.” Someone says something designed to irritate you, provoke you, pull you into an argument, or simply disturb the perfectly good peace you had before they showed up.

They came to get your goat.

The problem is, you have to give them the goat.

And somewhere along the way, I decided mine wasn’t available. 😂

So these days, when the goat-getters arrive, they may find themselves leaving a little disappointed.

Because my goat is still here.

He kept his horns.

He kept his dignity.

And, most importantly, he kept his peace 🐐

Now, don’t misunderstand our Porch Goat. He’s not completely oblivious.

He sees things.

Oh, he sees things. 😂

He occasionally raises an eyebrow.

He may even have an opinion.

But he has learned that having an opinion doesn’t require attending every argument you’re invited to.

Sometimes you can simply notice something, shake your head, and go back to eating hay.

And sometimes walking away isn’t about being unable to defend yourself.

Our Porch Goat still has his horns.

He simply doesn’t have to use them every time someone rattles the fence.

There’s a certain dignity in that.

He doesn’t have to charge every person who comes looking for a fight. He doesn’t have to prove how sharp his horns are. He can keep his dignity, protect his peace, and wander right back over to the porch.

Because keeping your goat isn’t about being defenseless.

It’s knowing you have horns and choosing when they’re actually worth using.

There’s tremendous freedom in that.

The internet gives us an endless supply of things we’re apparently supposed to be upset about. Our Facebook feed alone can serve up enough outrage, disagreement, unsolicited expertise, and general foolishness to keep a perfectly reasonable person irritated until Christmas.

But not everything placed in our feed requires consumption.

Don’t eat the feed they’re dishing.

Protect your goat.

That’s how the Porch Goat came to be.

He’s our little Farmstead reminder that peace doesn’t mean you didn’t notice.

Silence doesn’t mean you didn’t have an answer.

Walking away doesn’t mean someone won.

And choosing not to use your horns doesn’t mean you don’t have them.

Sometimes it simply means you decided your goat was worth keeping.

And if the goat-getters don’t particularly like that outcome?

Well…

I’m peacefully relaxing on my porch swing.

And my goat is right here beside me.

Still has his horns.

Still has his dignity.

Still has his peace.

Everybody wins…. well…except the goat-getter. They left without the goat 🐐❤️