A Little Clarification
Alright, I just got through doing a little surfing and I have to clarify a couple of things. Just because I am a vegan does not mean that I am a freak. I am not particularly aware of positive or negative energy in my house or swirling around my loved ones. I cannot say that I have ever actually had the pleasure...or displeasure of centering my Chi. I had out of body experiences when I was really young but haven't had any since I was twelve. I don't see auras. I think they exist but I don't see them. I don't see dead people and cannot communicate with anyone who has passed. I don't feng my shui. In fact, I don't feng anyone's shui. I'm sure it works for some people but I don't know what it is. I don't "unschool". I pay taxes. I don't hear the carrots or broccoli screaming - but if you do, you might want to see someone. I rarely wear tie-dye and I do get my hair cut. I might not be that into makeup, but mostly that's a safety issue. I lived with a girl that wore her makeup 24/7, and one day I saw her without it. It frightened me. I didn't know who she was. If I had owned a gun, I could have shot her as an intruder. I don't want to be shot. So I wear a little makeup just to be safe. I do wear Birkenstocks but only because I had them before I went vegan. Now I don't buy anything leather - because it isn't a by-product of the cattle industry, it is an actual product. I don't wear "peasant" skirts or poofy shirts. I am a shorts and t-shirt gal. I don't kum-ba-ya or have any weird rituals that involves nakedness, circles in the woods or animal parts. I do like candles but I think that's because I am a scents kinda person not necessarily because I am into any candle based philosophies - if they exist. Sure I like patchouli, but so does my mom and she's way conservative. I like being outside. I like camping. But not in the nude. That might frighten fellow campers and I am polite camper. I also don't like the idea of poison ivy getting anywhere where it is inappropriate to scratch in public. I don't do folk music simply because I can't play the guitar. I like to pretend to play the guitar and jam out, but that has started to embarass the boys quite a bit, so I only do that when they are not around. I don't practice witchcraft because I think it's a little silly. I like the whole New Age idea, but when long haired guys who obviously wouldn't get a second look in the major cities are conducting "sex workshops" on the weekend with married couples in a remote location, it kinda creeps me out. I like a good massage. I actually like a pedicure periodically, but not a manicure simply because it's pointless. The color chips within a matter of minutes. I never followed the Grateful Dead, mostly because I didn't really like their music all that much. They're cool, but just not for me. I like Dave Matthews though, and his group is Grateful Dead-ish. I never lived communally. I never went backpacking in Europe (although it is something I sincerely regret not doing and I am encouraging my boys to do it if they want to). I think I've been in a VW Bus once. I don't put flowers in my hair because my hair is so thin that the stems end up making the most hideous knots and the flowers attract all kinds of pestulance that I would prefer to remain far away from my hard drive, thank you very much. I could rasta my hair very easily but choose not to. I would prefer to shoot the peace sign than the finger but can do both with prompting. I don't eat animals because I really like them. Always have. They are innocent. I like that. They are basic. I really like that. And they are misunderstood which I can really, really appreciate.
So I am not a kook. Or after reading the above, maybe I am, but I like the way I'm living so far, and nothing had to be hurt for me, so it's not a bad lifestyle. I am extremely focused on who I am as a person and stepping lightly on the earth...no, not mother earth, just earth. Although I have been accused of being a communist, a socialist, and some other things very angry people are compelled to label me, I am not any -ist. Ok. Maybe an environmentalist, but that's just because I always want the option of running up to the campground or the reserve to recharge and feel better. I don't meditate and I don't "commune" with nature...I don't think. I just think God is so present in the natural world and the closer I can get to God the better I feel.