The article 10 Weird But Awesome Habits That Aren’t Just for Hippies discusses some great techniques we can learn from  hippies for our own health and well-being.

However, for me, the word ‘hippie‘ engages my imagination in other ways.

I see beads and bell-bottoms, beards and bare feet—even though it is not the hippie fashion sense that is what inspires me about their lifestyle. Instead, it’s the motivation behind the clothing that I aim to learn from, such as caring about feeling good and making choices based on intuition and pleasure versus an artificial societal expectation to live a certain type of “acceptable life.”

Wherever we stand on our perception of what it means to be a hippie, I think we can all agree that the following list includes five choices we all can make to bring more pleasure into our lives.

1. Be Naked Outside

Not because we want to show off our bodies. Not because we want to cause a scandal. But just because it feels good. Taking a break from clothes while being outside, especially in nature, truly feels like freedom. It feels free of restriction. It feels different then our normal moments and that is a good thing. And there is a lot of sensual satisfaction in it, too. The hippies know this and now, so do we.

2. Hug People

Again, just because it feels good. Humans are not meant to be lone creatures. We are wired for connection. A hug is one of the easiest and best ways to bring this sense of connection into our lives. It costs nothing and only asks of us to be a little open and vulnerable.

3. Eat Organic Veggies Straight from the Garden

When my garden was in its glory, people who ate a meal at my home would rave that a simple meal of steamed beets and grated carrot salad was the best meal they had ever tasted—and I could take no credit as chef. It was the vegetables themselves that shone in delicious tastiness. A fresh carrot straight out of the soil is not the same creature as a bagged carrot months old in the store. Try one from a friend’s garden or your local farmer’s market., and you’ll immediately understand what hippies know so well: Fresh is the best.

4. Dance Like Nobody’s Watching

For a lot of people, this one can take time getting use to. But I have cured a lot of heartbreak and despair through moving my body wildly. It is refreshing, just listening to the body with no preconceived ideas about what the body should do or shouldn’t do is amazing. Does it look weird? Yes, it might. But the whole point is not to care, which leads me to my last point.

5. Not Caring What Other People Think

I often cry about how overwhelming and challenging the human journey can be. And because of these innate challenges, the human journey brings the last thing we need to do is make it harder because we are worried about what others will think of us. We still need to be conscientious, because hurting others is never a goal. But a lot of time worrying about what other people might think only hurts ourselves. When we let go of caring so much, we free ourselves up and our outside naked time, hugging and dancing will be all that more enjoyable.

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Relephant:

Poser or Enlightened?

At the Crossroads: Confessions of a Christian Hippie.

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Author: Ruth Lera

Editor: Alli Sarazen

Photo: Ierdnal/Flickr