Hippie Zen as I define it, is a peaceful, holistic way of looking at the world. It is a bit metaphysical and does not require powerful mind altering substances to achieve. Rather it is always trying to be “in the moment” completely. For example, the next time you find yourself caught in the rain, don’t curse your bad luck but instead enjoy the sound and the smell as you watch people bustle and scurry trying in vain to weave their way between rain drops. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things if you get a little wet?

Look up every now and then and not just to check for clouds. Look into a clear blue sky and don’t fret over the “floaters” that everyone has in their eyes but enjoy azure or cerulean or cobalt blue. Maybe find a shape in a cloud and ponder why you saw that particular shape. Be at peace with the world around you and admire and marvel over the wonderful, beautiful complexity of it all. We are here but for a short time and that time is not enough to fully appreciate what a gift this earth and your life truly is. There has never been anyone like you in the entire history of the world and there never will be again. Does that not make you feel special? Does that not make you feel like slowing down and really enjoying your place in the world?

Never be quick to judge or quick to criticize. Do you think that the homeless man you crossed the street to avoid really wants to be homeless? Do you think he enjoys it? If you don’t have change, why not just wish him a good day? He is a human being, the same as you, as unique in history as you. Despite what part of you tries to tell you, that makes him immensely valuable. A one of a kind work of art in a way. Do you think you have all the answers? Do you think you know how he got there because you watch CNN and Fox news and 20/20? Do you really believe that just by looking at another human being you can know their history and judge their worth? You cannot, just as I cannot and I quit trying a long time ago.

There is peace and beauty in the smallest of things. Would you kill an ant because you view it as a pest? You who cannot create even a blade of grass would destroy something capriciously because it “bugged” you? Being a Hippie, following Zen is repect for all life and all things. Be kind and perhaps follow the Wiccan Rede of “Harm none, do as ye will”.

Be quiet. There is no reason to talk all of the time. There is no reason to believe that unless you speak loudly and longly that you will not be paid the attention you somehow feel you deserve. You deserve nothing, save for perhaps love. The same love you give to your fellow man. If you give none, then you recieve none. We are all here to love. We are not all here to hate and strive against one another. Did you buy that house or car because you needed it, or because it would somehow impress those around you? I have news, those around you might feel a moment of envy, but within a moment that feeling passes and all that is left is your car or mortgage payment. Is it worth it?

Be gracious. It is not necessary to berate the waiter because you feel it took too long to refill your glass. Perhaps they are alone in that area, perhaps someone called in sick, perhaps someone quit during their shift. Can you not put yourself in their shoes and be kind when you feel like showing them “the customer is always right?” You are but one customer among many. For every one of you that give a waiter or waitress grief, there is someone sadly shaking their head at your behavior. You are not the center of the universe, you are not that important. You are one among many. Learn humility.

Be humble. You do not know everything and all the bluster and bloviating in the world will not fool anyone. You are not the best looking, the strongest, the richest, the most degreed or the most intelligent. Learn this phrase and use it. “I do not know the answer to that”. There is nothing wrong with honesty. Sometimes honesty will teach you things you would never have learned otherwise.

You must always seek to find peace in your life and not worry about what others may think of you. I post these entries knowing that perhaps they will be read around the world and possibly mocked and reposted. It does not concern me in the slightest because I can sleep at night not caring what others think of my life. It is usually the people most displeased with their own life that are the quickest to judge and mock. The people who buy what the television tells them. The people who wish they could chuck it all and be who they want to be, but they feel the powerful pressure to conform and fit in to society like a plug in a socket.

It is not for me. It is for me to enjoy the things that I love and to seek out new things that I might never have thought of. It is for me to never judge, always seek peace inside myself and to love others no matter their race or creed. People are wonderful, the world is wonderful. If you believe that it is. if you live in fear then danger is around every corner. I live in joy and happiness and fear for me is running out of peanut butter in the middle of the night.

Be kind to one another, find beauty in all things and all people and love and live like there is no tomorrow.

Peace, Love and Happiness