Hippie

According to dictionary.com:

Hippie or Hippy

noun

1. a person, especially of the late 1960s, who rejected established institutions and values and sought spontaneity, direct personal relations expressing love, and expanded consciousness, often expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing and of beads, headbands, used garments, etc

This past week I was called a hippy.  This wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last I'm assuming.  The cause of my "label" was a reusable sandwich wrapper so I'm not using zip lock bags.  

I immediately felt defensive, like being called a hippy was a bad thing.  Think about it... how does society view "hippies".  When you hear the word hippy what comes to mind? For me it brings up people in their own little world (which I was accused of as a child), not really going with society norms (check), not getting upset about a majority of things...not bad things but then you get the hippy that lives in a commune, free love, pot smoker, in sandals, flowing garments, not bathing on a regular basis.  And TODAY hippy usually is paired up with liberal, granola cruncher, Subaru driving (I do drive a Subaru), give handouts to everyone.... need I go on?

I saw my defenses go up and I felt I had to "prove" I wasn't THAT bad of a hippy.  I mean I do shave my legs regularly!  But after this whole interaction I thought about it more and there are worse things I can be label as, but is hippy really that bad?  

It's a label, a word, that does not truly define me.  I am not one thing over another.  I am a complex person, just like we all are, and I'm not confined to one label.  Yes I do what I can to lesson my impact on this earth, recycle when I can, and try to make good choices because everything I do has an impact.  I realize I do not live in a bubble.  

I struggle with labels, even as a social worker and I have to diagnose someone.  Sometimes it can be freeing to know that the reason you think and feel a certain way can be explained by a mental illness but then what?  I've seen people use their diagnosis as a tool to empower themselves to get better where as others have used their diagnosis as a crutch or an excuse to continue with their ways.  I struggle with my own labels and I have to wonder WHY do we have to fit into a box or fit a certain mold to be understood and at times accepted?

The whole thing is crap!  Be true to yourself and don't focus on what you'll be labeled as and on the other side of that coin stop assigning labels to other people!  As soon as you do,  you put them in a box with your assumptions on how that person thinks and acts.  Which could result in loosing out on knowing a really amazing human being.

Yes, I have hippie tendencies...I also have liberal AND conservative tendencies and according to others that have labeled me I am: cold hearted, warm, loving, resilient, bitch, snobby, grounded, depressed, relaxed, anxious, kind, introverted, adventurous.....

In a moment, in a day, in a week... we are so many things.  We grow, we change, we interact with situations as they come, we are fluid and adaptable so why would we focus so much on what we are labeled or what we label other people?

Be open to yourself and others! Live big and take "labels" as they truly are, a snapshot of that moment, a highlight of one part of you as a truly remarkable human being that is adaptable and open to new experiences.