My 13 year-old thinks I’m a hippie. She doesn’t mean it as an insult (nor do I take it as one). Was I born in the wrong decade? Am I really a flower child at heart and not an 80’s material girl? And what does a hippie look like in 2013?
I’m not sure. I know that deep down, I’d rather have flowers in my hair than diamonds around my neck. I’m not certain that I’ve ever said that aloud. I did, however, slam on the breaks yesterday as we were driving past a neighbor’s house and I saw that they had planted a huge array of wildflowers across the front of their property. I wanted to go sit in the middle of them and weave little wildflower necklaces for my girls.
I don’t actually know how to do that.
I suppose she thinks I’m a hippie because I talk about peace often. Maybe it’s because on the days that she is worried that there are no good people left in the world, I show her documentaries about peace activists and humanitarians from the past and present. I remind her that there are people who CARE all over the world and that we just have to look for them.
Maybe it’s because we homeschool, which in her words is so not mainstream. My tendency towards unschooling often makes us feel like we’re on the fringe among homeschoolers. I don’t mind. I love the philosophy of unschooling. It doesn’t require my kids to constantly jump through hoops like circus dogs to prove their worth. I know their worth has nothing to do with test scores. I want them to know that too. It allows them to discover their own interests and learn in the most natural way possible. It allows them to discover who they are and who they want to become without the fear of rejection or the artificial evaluations of the system (hoops). Is that really so radical?
Hippy is an establishment label for a profound, invisible, underground, evolutionary process. For every visible hippy, barefoot, beflowered, beaded, there are a thousand invisible members of the turned-on underground. Persons whose lives are tuned in to their inner vision, who are dropping out of the TV comedy of American Life. -Timothy Leary
I’m a mostly invisible member. I don’t wear flowers and beads. I wear shoes quite often.
This isn’t a new thing for me. I didn’t get to get married barefoot in a field or on a beach like I thought I would, but I did have Good Morning Starshine played during my wedding ceremony. Sometimes the song still plays through my head as I go through the day and I feel like a little like this:
I think maybe it’s official in my daughter’s eyes since the Peace Card arrived. I mentioned that whenever I take it out of my wallet and hand it over the counter I feel like I’m wishing the person across from me peace. I’m spreading the love.
Okay, they don’t seem to notice or respond. But it’s a constant reminder of peace for me. It’s a debit card, so I won’t be burying myself in debt over things I don’t need (that would be very unhippie-ish).
If you are looking for a card that will make you smile every time you use it, Card.com has a ton of cool (non-hippie) images to choose from – everything from The Walking Dead, to NFL Players; from Popeye and Garfield to Galdolf the Grey. Even the Trekkies will be happy!
Getting the card is a peaceful process. Since it’s a pre-paid debit card, there is no credit check. You can load it up with cash from an existing bank account, PayPal or Western Union. Have a look at all the details and designs at Card.com.
Now remember this:
The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. –Jim Morrison
Wishing you Peace and Love,
Amy
I was given a pre-loaded card in exchange for help promoting this new line of pre-paid cards.
