Back to Spirituality, the Hippie Way

I was watching Wife Swap the other night, the husband version. I suppose you could call it Husband Swap but I don't recall that they did so I won't either. The big, bad, biker Dad was to swap lives for a week with the communal living, hippie Dad. And it hit me then as I was watching the celebration of the turn of the seasons in the commune. I'm part hippie. I am a flower child repressed. I watched the show intently to gleam bits of communal living information. I could so easily see myself fitting into a place like that.

It wasn't so much an anarchistic society, rejecting establishment or organization. When some people think of a commune, they may think of free love and drug use. While certain communes practiced these acts, many had strict rules to abide by when it came to such matters. In essence, it was the notion that the void of capitalism (the gimme-gimmes, greed, self-serving idealization) could be filled with something more interpersonal. A society that relied on one another. A society dedicated to creating and controlling the environment their children were to be raised in. Working for a common greater good.

Communal living is uncommon, but basic principals still remain. Neighbors help neighbors, they don't just pop in when they need something. Sometimes resources are pooled for common purposes within the community. There's a chore list that is passed around and neighbors take turns completing tasks to better the community. They recycle and compost, garden and thank Mother Earth for her bounty. They ride bikes when at all possible...that would totally bring me back to my youth! They practice yoga. And heaven forbid, no television except for maybe the occasional news program once the kiddies are in bed. Can you honestly imagine a world where our children's minds aren't being turned to mush by the hum and incessant chatter of a television? I am impressed that the television does not become the entertainment, or the baby-sitter. Taken altogether, it doesn't sound that bad. In fact it sounds delightedly HEALTHY.

It's back to nature and spirituality all at once. I would get back to the land. I would dawn overalls that my neighbor so lovingly hand-stitched and I'd paint her shed in return. I would dig in the damp dirt of my own garden. I'd grow carrots and corn and potatoes. Maybe even butternut squash. Afterwards, I would prepare the feast gifted to me by Mother Earth and I'd invite friends over to share it with. I would be content to serve my children things I could guarantee were nothing but pure and healthy for their bodies. After dinner I could sit down and color with my children, maybe craft a few of my own soy candles or settle into a few yoga poses. Later I'd fall asleep content that I went another day preserving the beauty of the Earth for my children, and theirs, and theirs too. But more importantly I would be at peace with what my children were learning about taking care of people around them...that contrary what culture feeds us, love IS enough.

Signing off,
Dancing Daisies Disguised