I want to be free in this judgemental world and need advice from an old hippie!

I can remember being very young (as young as 4) and wanting to be simple and free and since I can remember, hippies have always appealed to me. I smoked weed when I was 13 and it hit me like a ton of bricks..I wanted to be simple, smoke weed, spread wisdom and be 'different'.
My parents would probably never approve of this man! They want me to be all high class and loaded when I just want to drift from place to place. I come kind of from a family of hippies as well, my parents still smoke weed daily.
How can I escape all these big expectations and be that simple, free, hippie that I've dreamed of being my entire life?
Thanks to all responses

SloMotion

 

Nothing wrong with that. But being "a hippy" is not always simple and they aren't always free.

What kind of wisdom do you have? LOL! You're just a kid! To spread wisdom you have to earn it. You earn it by living. You're a kid nd you havn't lived yet.

As for being different, quit trying to be "anything" and just be yourself.

Yeah, no one ever could teach stupid parents how to raise a kid.... LOL!
They are your parents. Maybe you should listen to them? Maybe they aren't so stupid after all?

That doesn't match with what you've said so far.

LOL! You don't! All of us have to deal with the rigors of life. Achieving "big expectations" is a lot better than getting no where in life and spending your life filling tacos at Taco Bell. What kind of retirement does that get you? It don't get you SQUAT! How are you going to live? You know, who's going to pay for your food? Your rent? Your medical? Your "anything"? YOU! Won't happen if you're just a "simple, free, hippy". I know a guy that used to be a hippy. He was a war protestor, did some time in jail for protesting, even did some dope. Guess what he is now? He's the county judge. He went to school and reached those high expectations.

You can't live your whole life being simple and free FOR free. Someone has to pay your bills.


And quit trying to be something you're not. I say that because if you're trying to "be a hippy" you're doing a pretty poor job of it from the get-go. Hippies don't try to be anything, they just be themselves. And that's why I don't think your parents are hippies. Because if they were you would already know that.

 

before the 60's there was the 50's and one the most famous songs of that era... "GET A JOB".....

 

I had a lot to respond to the OP post, but Logan5 beat me to it.

Damn, and after six decades of acquiring wisdom didn't get a chance to spread it. :sad:

 

He got a "thumbs-up" from me, too. One of the wisest posts I've seen on this site. I hope the original poster takes it to heart.

 

I've read that good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions. Smoking pot does not make you a Hippie anymore than drinking beer makes you a Redneck. The fact of the matter is that I've known people that have done what you aspire to and they are irritating as fuck.

I just love having this conversation:
"So what did you do today?"
"Smoked a couple Joints."
"No what did you do today?"
"Smoked a couple of Joints."
"Did you do anything else?"
"I rolled them."

Look dude I like to have my fun like the rest but I also like eating and sleeping indoors. Especially being able to choose what I eat, and where I sleep.

That said I do live simply. My fiancee and I live in a simple studio apartment. I work 7 days a week helping others which is pretty cool to me. I accumulate wisdom from the people I see and communicate with on a daily basis and am sober enough to remember it. I smoke weed and drink beer after the work is done, and I drink no wine before its time.

Peace Out,
Rev J

 

From good ones, too

 

yeah, you can do all that; there is just one BIG problem... you don't know what you need to do to make it happen.
that is normal. they don't teach this stuff in traditional school systems.

here are three (3) things you need to do:

1. buy a copy of the latest edition of 'what color is your parachute?'

2. get the most recent edition of 'bear's guide to non-traditional college degrees.'

3. go to and study this website, www.whywork.org
one hell of alot of great information there!

since your here at hip forums, check out the alternative lifestyles sub-forum here and, check out the hobo allance in the special groups section here at hip forums. there is some damn fine stuff in both those groups.

these are the tools you will need, to get to where you want to go with your life.
no one can tell you what the answers are for you.
there are different answers for each of us.
i gave you the tools, now it is up to you to use them.

 

Don't judge.

 

How can I escape all these big expectations and be that simple, free, hippie that I've dreamed of being my entire life?
Thanks to all responses
My parents taught me tolerance, common courtesy, respect of others, freedom of expression and embracing all aspects of cosmopolitan values before deciding upon, what 'I' felt to be the right, and worth fighting for. So with their support, my experience of the 60s turning from Black and White to Spectrum colour was an illusion of complexity though with due and profound reward
Being a young Hippie 'in the day' the appeal of the time for me was a mix of Peace and Love along with Protest and Protect. -Though there are times I was slightly older to make 'more' of a point at the time I have no regrets.
I have a simple philosophy - Have conviction of conscience - leave a legacy of hope for the the youth that will follow - Peace + Love ~ Save the Planet - It is a creed I hold to true, though having and sticking to one's beliefs can come at a price - and has seen me sometimes isolated - Still, The Future has yet to be written and it is down to people like you
Be Bold – Be Brave – Be You
eace:

 

I do not think it is realistic to expect that there is not judgments made no matter what lifestyle you choose to live.

Instead be sure enough and confident enough in doing what is right for you that their judgment no longer bothers you.

Hard to be critical of someone who is happy, adjusted, content and does not really get bothered by what others say.

 

I'm 24 and I felt the same as you do for a long time. Constantly trying to figure out a way that doesn't buy into all the bullshit, but the truth is you have to buy into it at least a little bit. You have to make money, unless you want to be homeless. The way I learned to deal with it, I got a decent paying job, I work Mon-Thurs saving as much money as possible then I go on long cross country trips to San Francisco or New York sometimes I just get on US-40 or I-80 and drive until I get tired and spend 4-5 days in the middle of nowhere. I once spent 5 days in Battle Mountain, Nevada(left from Franklin, Indiana) . I judge my life on experience, I do my job, I pay my bills and about once every 6 weeks I get in my van pick up a few friends and we hit the road like modern day Dharma Bums. I've had countless encounters with very amazing and interesting people. It's a different lifestyle but this is how Ive found personal freedom.

 

i'm not an old hippie but I think I'm pretty wise sometimes, ive fucked up enough in life to know what NOT to do at least, lol...so i will try to offer you some advice.

one, if you want to be free-spirited, then you dont need to ask others how to achieve that. Thats something you just do. If you have a free spirited soul then you'll answer your own questions in time. You'll figure out eventually that it doesn't matter what your parents expect of you; all that matters is what you expect of yourself and what fulfills you.

also, if you want to be free you'll definitely need money in order to be free. Money isn't everything, and certainly the hippie ideal is that money doesn't matter one iota, but without making a decent living you'll find yourself stuck exactly where you are. You can live simply and within your means, you can avoid consumerism, but if you want to drift from place to place you'll need a way to fund your travels.

With that said, I suggest going to college. Its a great way to escape your parents, find yourself, arm yourself with knowledge, and earn a degree that will allow you flexibility so that you can find a job you actually enjoy doing. Education is the path to true freedom; money is a neccessity but if you're well educated you're going to open up so many doors for yourself instead of finding yourself stuck in a job you absolutely hate with a salary that doesnt allow for much travel at all.

other than that, just always do what you love and what ignites a spark of passion within yourself

 

A lot of us here feel that way, too. But as you and others have pointed out, you gotta have some kind of plan for making it work.

Yes. In which case you're "buying into the bullshit" and you're more dependent on the system than if you'd just got a job.

 

LOL just because I said "hippie" doesn't mean I don't want a job! I want a job, I just don't want to be caught up in some political bullshit job or anything like that in this corrupt system! No matter what, I know I'll have to work. And I realized after posting that "my parents still smoke weed", I didn't mean it like "huh-huh they smoke weed, they're hippies huh-huh" No! Wisdom to spread? Maybe not much wisdom yet. We learn from experiences, from people we talk to, from advice we take. I'm not saying I got a head full of wisdom. I want to spread the wisdom I do have, learn wisdom others have, and share wisdom others have taught me. I know how I want to live, it's just the condition that I'm in right now won't let me be who I am. And that's why I want to break free.

 

@HippieLove86
That's sort of like what I had in mind. No matter what I'm gonna have to live in this crazy world but what's wrong with trying to make it better and living simply in it?

 

Then change the "condition". You asked for advice from "old hippies". You got some excellent advice here. I hope you take it to heart. Let me add one more thing ... step #1: don't blame external things for the way you are. It gets you nowhere.

I don't know how old you are, but when I was in college, I felt much the same way you do. So did most of my friends. Somehow I managed to get into elementary school teaching, and discovered that I loved it and what's more I felt like I was truly contributing something to the lives of young children.

In hindsight, I think those are the secrets to being happy ... doing something you love and feeling like you're giving something to the world.

Seriously, the things people have said in this thread are the truth. If you truly want to "spread wisdom", then there's wisdom in this thread to last you a long time.

 

Freedom is found within the mind. Search within. i constantly fight against my self-imposed shackles . . .

 

Y know that is what Jim and I did in the '70s.

We got to Miami after a trip thru Centro America and started working at a home for psycho boys. Did a lot of hours a minimum wages then took off for India (overland fm Europe).

Came back and got jobs in a psych hospital in New Orleans, then off to Central America. Did this a couple more times. Did "right livlihood" between trips on the road. It was a helluva ride for the five years we were together.

So, try to commit yourself to a right livlihood type job, helping others or doing some other beneficial work for the planet or humans (or animals or just not trashing the planet would be a plus)

 

@Billyx1120

Thanks for the good response, what a great philosophy! I may not have worded my post in all the right ways, some of the responses were kind of..i dont know.."downing" my dream I guess you could say. At the end of your post, "The Future has yet to be written and it is down to people like you"
is very true, and the way a lot of people are these days, the future isn't going to be all that good if it continues. I want to be simple and hopefully influence some others along the way