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A question was recently asked on a forum I frequent - What are the old hippies really doing to change the world?
Good question. Something I have pondered on more than once. Sometimes I look back and think about where I have been - where I have gone - and is it where I thought I was going to end up. And sometimes the answers aren’t simple, just like life.
So, where have I been? lol, more places than you might imagine. Some good, some bad, some life changing. I’ve lived in a commune, traveled in a VW bus with a big sun painted on the front, hitchhiked across the country. Easy to say, not so easy to leave behind. Places yes but also the people. People and times that touched my young life and made an impression that has never truly left me. A place in time that was more than it looked like from the outside.
And where have I gone? Might seem like the same answer but no, not really. And it is probably the hardest to answer. Because at some point you have to choose. And the choosing isn’t easy. So you do the best the can and you live amongst those who don’t necessarily embrace what you believe. (no town of hippies anywhere near here) You get a job and you dress to conform. And so it begins.
And you make a little money and realize that is a good thing. Because money allows you to do the things you want to do - like buying toys for the needy kids at Christmas, and giving it away to the old man with a sign in the middle of the street, donating to disaster victims, etc..
Then the kids come along and you do your best to impart your values to them. I can proudly say we have raised kids who see through the BS and aren’t afraid to use their voice, kids who are good and do good things. Kids who help others. And if nothing else, that was worth it.
You fight the injustice where you can and you do what you can. And you come to realize that there are some things you can’t change - so you do your best to just make a difference in the things that you can do.
All the while living amongst them and sometimes even being like them. (like when you flip the bird to a bad driver instead of the Peace sign) But inside you are still you and so you feel bad about it later.
Am I where I thought I would be when the journey began? No, but it many ways that is a good thing. Am I comfortable where I am? Yes, and No. Like I said, I have learned to live amongst ‘em. I am happy. I am still me - whatever that means. It has evolved over time.
So, if you see a middle aged woman and she recognizes something familiar in you and smiles - it’s just a kindred soul.
Peace…
