Dirty Hippie
Unless we make changes, nothing will change. I remember about 20 years ago in Nashville when the city gave us those first (yellow, I think) crates to use for recycling. Nobody I knew used them for that. NOBODY. We used them to hold more trash, as laundry baskets, storage bins, or just threw them away. Now days you go over someone's house and it can look like a full service recycling center for paper, glass, plastic, even compost. It took us awhile to get here but this is how it happens. Now it's a collective consciousness to the point that you'll walk several blocks with a the empty water bottle you've been drinking until you see the right bin to toss it in. This works on the individual level as well.
Most of the people I know seem to be on two sides of a fence these days. One side, the side where they've got a nice routine going and see no reason to challenge or question it. Good for them. I've been there. Would like to get there again to some degree. The other side of the fence are the ones who seem to very desperately want a change. To what, maybe they don't even know but definitely seek a jolt from their current reality. Oddly enough, most of this side of the fence have an incredible number of opportunities to challenge the current situation.
First, stop poisoning yourself. Stopping whatever you're doing every two hours every day for years to spend 7-10 minutes inhaling up to 500 different poisons and carcinogens all day can put a wall up that will keep any positive or creative energies out. The mental freedom is an even bigger benefit. While the chemical dependency is one thing, the letting go of the idea of being constantly handed your bottle of milk or continuing being breast-fed has got to be at least a little liberating. People can be upset about this but the road to enlightenment doesn't need smoke breaks.
Diet. what do we eat? what do we not eat? It fucking amazes me how deep into pharmecuetecals the country is in but when it comes to what food we put into our system it just doesn't connect. Food IS medicine. Period. People who only eat crap don't know what it's like to feel good. to feel alive. They may think they do, but they don't. As I say this, I also say I have no idea what the right diet is. Vegan, paleo, high fat, low cab, etc. I just believe paying attention to what to what does and doesn't go into your system makes a difference. For myself, my life changed for the better when I started cutting out processed foods. if it wasn't either killed or grown, I don't eat it. From that, I lost a lot of weight and felt a lot better emotionally, spiritually and got better sleep. Given this, I "relapse" from time to time. And I feel the difference. In a bad way. You cut out sugar and flour and your life will change. half your meats and double your veggies and it gets even better.
Move. Get off your ass and move. No gym membership, no cycling, no running, no yoga classes, just get up and walk. Walk as much as you can. Get a backpack and walk to the grocery, walk the fuck outta your dog, walk in the woods. just walk. This is the one thing that between either sitting at a desk all day or running on a treadmill and lifting weights we don't do nearly enough of is walk. And it's the one thing we were specifically designed for that no other animal was. To stand upright and walk....preferably up hill and on natural terrain. What fucking caveman walked around a track? He never would've survived. It also cures insomnia. I had insomnia my entire life. from kindegarten all the way to my mid 30's. A few months as a bike messenger cured it. I sleep like a drugged toddler now. You say you exercise and you still can't sleep....try burning 5,000 calories EVERYDAY. You'll sleep.
Quiet. I actually know people who have said to me, 'I can't meditate. It just pisses me off.' Anyone who says this or any of the other excuses like, 'I don't have time.' Or 'I can't sit still.' Are the perfect candidates for meditation. 30 seconds first thing in the morning makes a huge difference. 30 fucking seconds. When someone says they can't meditate, that they just have to many thoughts, this IS meditation. The act of pushing those thoughts away. THAT IS MEDITATION. For myself, I see these thoughts as these big blob like formations that I envision my hands actually pushing away. If I can get five minutes of this done in the morning, that makes for several LESS people I refer to as "fuckos" throughout the rest of the day. Just several less, I always leave a little room to call out fuckos.
None of these things are gonna solve your problems. God knows they haven't solved mine. They do, however, give us a little more strength or access to tools to deal with some of our daily bullshit. I haven't stopped reacting negatively to assholes or bullshit situations but I have stopped reacting negatively to EVERY asshole and bullshit situation. I still eat frozen pizzas but I also probably eat more kale and spinach than any vegan I know. I try to keep it close enough in my system that physical, mental or emotional bullshit can started on repairing with a green smoothie. As far as meditating....I still don't have time for that shit.
Most of the people I know seem to be on two sides of a fence these days. One side, the side where they've got a nice routine going and see no reason to challenge or question it. Good for them. I've been there. Would like to get there again to some degree. The other side of the fence are the ones who seem to very desperately want a change. To what, maybe they don't even know but definitely seek a jolt from their current reality. Oddly enough, most of this side of the fence have an incredible number of opportunities to challenge the current situation.
First, stop poisoning yourself. Stopping whatever you're doing every two hours every day for years to spend 7-10 minutes inhaling up to 500 different poisons and carcinogens all day can put a wall up that will keep any positive or creative energies out. The mental freedom is an even bigger benefit. While the chemical dependency is one thing, the letting go of the idea of being constantly handed your bottle of milk or continuing being breast-fed has got to be at least a little liberating. People can be upset about this but the road to enlightenment doesn't need smoke breaks.
Diet. what do we eat? what do we not eat? It fucking amazes me how deep into pharmecuetecals the country is in but when it comes to what food we put into our system it just doesn't connect. Food IS medicine. Period. People who only eat crap don't know what it's like to feel good. to feel alive. They may think they do, but they don't. As I say this, I also say I have no idea what the right diet is. Vegan, paleo, high fat, low cab, etc. I just believe paying attention to what to what does and doesn't go into your system makes a difference. For myself, my life changed for the better when I started cutting out processed foods. if it wasn't either killed or grown, I don't eat it. From that, I lost a lot of weight and felt a lot better emotionally, spiritually and got better sleep. Given this, I "relapse" from time to time. And I feel the difference. In a bad way. You cut out sugar and flour and your life will change. half your meats and double your veggies and it gets even better.
Move. Get off your ass and move. No gym membership, no cycling, no running, no yoga classes, just get up and walk. Walk as much as you can. Get a backpack and walk to the grocery, walk the fuck outta your dog, walk in the woods. just walk. This is the one thing that between either sitting at a desk all day or running on a treadmill and lifting weights we don't do nearly enough of is walk. And it's the one thing we were specifically designed for that no other animal was. To stand upright and walk....preferably up hill and on natural terrain. What fucking caveman walked around a track? He never would've survived. It also cures insomnia. I had insomnia my entire life. from kindegarten all the way to my mid 30's. A few months as a bike messenger cured it. I sleep like a drugged toddler now. You say you exercise and you still can't sleep....try burning 5,000 calories EVERYDAY. You'll sleep.
Quiet. I actually know people who have said to me, 'I can't meditate. It just pisses me off.' Anyone who says this or any of the other excuses like, 'I don't have time.' Or 'I can't sit still.' Are the perfect candidates for meditation. 30 seconds first thing in the morning makes a huge difference. 30 fucking seconds. When someone says they can't meditate, that they just have to many thoughts, this IS meditation. The act of pushing those thoughts away. THAT IS MEDITATION. For myself, I see these thoughts as these big blob like formations that I envision my hands actually pushing away. If I can get five minutes of this done in the morning, that makes for several LESS people I refer to as "fuckos" throughout the rest of the day. Just several less, I always leave a little room to call out fuckos.
None of these things are gonna solve your problems. God knows they haven't solved mine. They do, however, give us a little more strength or access to tools to deal with some of our daily bullshit. I haven't stopped reacting negatively to assholes or bullshit situations but I have stopped reacting negatively to EVERY asshole and bullshit situation. I still eat frozen pizzas but I also probably eat more kale and spinach than any vegan I know. I try to keep it close enough in my system that physical, mental or emotional bullshit can started on repairing with a green smoothie. As far as meditating....I still don't have time for that shit.
