The Hippies Had Something
I
grew up in the sixties, and as I look around today, living in another century
and observing the world we reside in, it is almost unrecognizable from the days
of black and white TV, the Viet Nam War and the Beatles. Twenty dollars is
worth about $2.00 today compared to what you could buy back in 1967. Not to mention the rapid-fire pace we are
forced to assimilate and produce data, from taking a photo or video with your
phone and having it posted on Facebook or YouTube in lightning speed, to
microwave ovens and computers where mail takes seconds instead of days. The
planet is suffering from global warming and the urgency to correct our mistakes
of the past may be too late. We have
been experiencing a recession, almost depression in one of the richest
countries in the world. It’s no wonder so many young people are romanticizing
the time of Peace & Love giving rise to the Hippie Generation.
The
Hippies created a sub-culture, attributed to bringing a plethora of new thought
and new ways to live. Granted, much of the dark side of that era, mostly the
drug use and communicable diseases, we could have done without. I had many
friends overdose or behave in extreme anti-social behavior because of the
psychedelics very popular back then. Free clinics where rife with numerous
hippies needing penicillin shots. But
this explosion of anti-establishment mores served a purpose that cannot be
denied. The up-side showed many of us another consciousness, a way to become
enlightened. A spiritual awareness was brought about by mind-altering drugs and
Eastern philosophies and our primary goal was to gain enlightenment in ways
that our parents found abhorrent. I can speak first-hand from the 3-4 years I
spent living as a full-fledged hippie, I found I was able to recognize how it
felt to be near that vibration or light, and know the reality, called by so
many names, The Great Life Force, God, Allah, Higher Power, Buddha, the list
goes on and on. Even though my journey began as a 16 year old female fresh out
of high school, I continue to seek that closeness and guidance from a Power one
can hope to know in this life and the next.
Spirituality
is only one component of the consequence of the Hippie movement. There were
finally hordes of people, young and old, protesting against war, Pro-Peace
rallies abounded, marches for racial equality were everywhere, we won sexual
liberation, fought for women’s equality, promoted collective, communal and
self-sufficient living, demanded abortion and contraception rights, insisted on
freedom of speech, began Green Peace/Green movements, promoted organic farming,
exposed the danger of pesticide use, opened health food stores everywhere,
lived for collective and individual artistic expression, not to mention all the
great music that came out of the Sixties, so much of it professing LOVE, LOVE,
LOVE. What a generation we lived in.
Today
I marvel at all the Peace signs on clothing, shampoo, cars, posters, jewelry,
to only mention a few spotting’s. One Peace sign even had the words below it,
“back by popular demand”…. I do believe it’s important to pay attention to this
vital message for our continued existence as a species. It’s so very hard for
me to believe there are still so many computer games and films focusing on war
and violence. WE HAVE TO MOVE ON!! We
need to create other activities for the youth that will instill within them
this essence of the Sixties, of Peace, Love and Brother/Sisterhood. Timothy
Leary may not be everybody’s cup of tea but he tried to turn people on to this
concept. Along with other catchphrases, he professed to “Live and Let Live”, a
very popular 12-step program slogan used today. Not “kill or be killed” as so many of the
films dictate. Thus begins my own wish
to bring back the Sixties, at least the part that will nurture us all and
direct us to know, We Are All One!!
