Friggin' Hippie

Yes, Eckhart... I see it too.

Is a really great excuse for not getting stuff done. Who knew that being on a path to enlightenment could give you a genuine excuse for you to fully embrace procrastination? If all I have is this moment, am I really going to spend it sorting socks? Hmmm… that’s a toughie. I mean the karma for not sorting your socks may not be that bad. Some dudes are super interested in well worn mismatched socks (ask me about ebay).

But the karma for living in the moment every moment except for the one when your rent is due, will get you kicked off of that drug dealer’s couch you’ve been living on for three months… or worse. Not that I would want anything to happen to you. No not you. Anyone but you. You’re my fave. Plus, Dave only sells weed, so I don’t think he’s going to make you stand in a bucket while he covers your feet in cement.

Staring contest accepted! You're going down Tolle! (Okay. I'm done. Even though I have a billion of these. Some of them are NSFW.)

I’m just messing around. I don’t even know anyone named Dave. That’s just some rambling hippie armchair philosophy for you. I’m almost done reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and this book pretty much cracked my skull open. It’s given me a completely different perspective on the world and on my own mind. It has caused some existential dilemmas, though. Such as, but not limited to:

1. As a writer, my main writing voice is also my egoic voice. If I lesson the grip of my ego, who’s going to do my job? Should I start outsourcing my ego?

2. Sex?! WTF?! That is all.

3. Okay,okay, I’ll use my words… If you’re supposed to awaken and have these open, attentive, non-attached, genuine sorts of relationships, what does that say about sex? What I’m really asking is this: If I meet someone off of Craigslist, can I just stare at them for awhile before we bone? What if I stare at them in the eyes? That’s totally legit, right?

Now, don’t you worry about me, hippies. I’m not going to go the route of your crazy enlightened cousin Dave and start wearing white robes all of the time, and incessantly talking about your chakras. I am way. too. cool. for that.

Wait…. I’m way too. cool. 4. that.

Better yet… MWay.2.cul.4.dat.

See how cool I am? Eff white robes, I’m going to do something much more helpful. I’m going to make the human language indiscernible. That way we’ll never have to have voices in our heads that we identify with and believe are our very own selves, even though, guess what? They totally aren’t. And then I’m also going to build a box and stay in it forever so that I only have the present moment, in my box, and everything will be all blissful and fantastic.

Party. My box. Next week.

Have ya’ll ever read any Eckhart Tolle? Did he make you want to move into a timeless box house?

Love,

The Friggin’ Hippie

That's me! Your resident hippie and hair wrap enthusiast.

Come one, come all and welcome to this brand spanking new blogstravaganza! That’s right! Today we’re embarking on a journey that will thrill and enlighten us all!

A little about me:

My name is Corinne Tobias and I’ve been called a hippie before. I’m sure you have too (don’t be in denial, you’re reading a hippe blog). It’s not a term I absolutely love, because most of the time it comes with negative connotations (thanks Merriem-Webster).

It’s bizarre how people think the word “alternative” means something slightly negative. Come on, folks! Alternative doesn’t mean bad, it’s just means different. As an English major, I spent a great deal of time looking at the way we define words. I’m going to pick on Webster again. One of their definitions for alternative is “different from the usual or conventional,” and the examples they use clearly have negative connotations. When you search for the word on Google the definition comes up as, “One of two or more available possibilities.” Can’t we just go with that one?

But hey, this is America and you can’t get down because of the way that people perceive you. And you, most certainly, can’t blame a dictionary for the way people think. People don’t like different. That’s just the way it is.

So most of the time, like many counterculturalist/femminist/vegan/alternative looking peeps, I just keep smiling and enjoying life. And now I get the opportunity to share my new and beautiful journey with you. It really has just begun. I started working as a freelance writer (the free-est job in the world) and things have really taken off the past few months. Now I get to travel around, work full time, see the world, love some people and live, I mean really live. I want to go everywhere, eat everything, get weird tattoos, jump off waterfalls, climb mountains… you know, everything.

I was walking past the living room a few minutes ago and my dad was watching this show about a famous kayaker who broke his back into a million pieces and eventually walked away from the injury. The guy said, “Dying is as much a part of living as anything else. I’m not going to run the risk of not living to avoid the risk of dying.” I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff like that lately and it’s really speaking to me.

What this is:

A few weeks ago, I took a long road trip around the Midwest to visit some friends and catch some of the best music in the world. I saw my favorite band, Wookiefoot on three stops during their fall tour. They’re a lovely jam band out of Minneapolis and they have a great message. Their newest album, Be Fearless and Play, has a deep seeded “see the world” theme that really moves you to go. They’re inspiring and magical, to say the least.

Following those fellas around was so moving that I hadn’t been back at home base for more than 24 hours when I bought a ticket to Panama. I needed a kickstart to my life, and the opportunity to visit Panama was one that I couldn’t deny.

I have a feeling that my life is going to be filled with a lot of vagabond-ish experiences from here on out. I just want to document it all, ask the big questions, help others find an alternative way of living by sharing what I learn throughout it all. What do you want to see in this blog?

I know you can tell by the title of this post, that sh*ts gonna get deep in the hizzy. You’re absolutely correct in your assumption. I’m going to drop some personal philosophy on you that may be complete and utter bullsh*t, or it may be the key to life. I’m guessing that since this post has already used the “sh, asterisk, t” word twice, that it’s probably going to be the former.

You know, I’ve been going through some stuff lately that would have made me super blubbery a few months ago. Really, Past Corinne would have been hysterical and gaspy and snotty right now.

As a big believer in the truth, it’s hard for me to deal with reality when someone I love lies to me. It’s even more difficult when it’s all wrapped in drama and delivered to my front door like something awesome that I ordered on Amazon weeks ago, but completely forgot about. But this is definitely not a forgotten package from Amazon. This is sh*t (there she goes again).You know, I like to trust. It’s kinda my thing. I honestly have faith in honesty and the good of humanity. I’m a friggin’ hippie, not a CIA agent. I don’t want to walk around like a human lie detector test.

I don’t mean to be vague about the situation that just passed a few hours ago, but I really don’t want to put any negative energy into it. So I’m going to let you know what I do when stuff like this happens.  Then you can follow along in your book (does that reference make sense?).

Okay, so here’s what you do every day in preparation for sh*tty stuff to go down. Spend every moment in complete and utter awe. If you have a hard time doing this, realize that we live in an awesome time. Here’s a clip to remind you of how amazing the world is right now, just in case you forgot…

Just think about how amazing every little thing is in the entire world. From the guy popping a wheelie on his bike to the idea of electricity. I’m serious. Every little thing. Just take some time whenever you’re bored to think about how fundimentally amazing electricity is, and wifi and puppy dog eyes and mangoes and coffee and the way a crisp cold morning can wake you up.

If you can get used to this, you can successfully deal with everything negative that graces your life. Just focus on the awe. Even if your life isn’t personally the most amazing thing at this very moment, you can find something to find wonder in.

And that’s the secret. That’s part of the secret, at least. It’s what’s letting me celebrate this moment and everything that led up to it. No ill will to the liar. No harm done. No negativity manifested. Booyah!

Come one, come all… Oh, you’re already here?

Okay…. Uh. I wasn’t really expecting company this late. No, no. Don’t worry about it. What a nice set of wings you’ve got there. No, dude. You’re not imposing. It’s cool. Did you say that you’re Pete’s friend? Any friend of Pete’s is a… Wait. Who the eff is Pete? You’re not a cop, are you? You know, I know my rights. I know that if you’re a police officer, you have to tell me. How do I know that? It was in a Jay Z song…

Oh well. Stay one, stay all!

So, you’re at a very special place in your life right now. What? You didn’t know that at this moment, looking at this blog was going to change the rest of your life? Oh man. This moment is your life.

Shoot. Before I scare you away with all my hippieness, I’d like to welcome you to the new and improved Friggin’ Hippie! Old friends, welcome back! New friends, bahahahhahahah (evil laugh) you’re trapped here forever! This blog is like Tron Legacy. Okay, I don’t remember that movie. I’ve seen bits and pieces. The CGI Jeff Briges was too much for me to swallow. At any rate, you’re trapped here for eternity. And I’ve got disc golf discs with glow sticks taped to them and you have to play with me and call me TRON.  For. ev. er.

I scored this domain second hand because I was having technical difficulties with the old site. It doesn’t quite make sense, but hey, I recycle. Maybe I should start off every blog post with a contemporary greeting. How about:

• What a nice set of wings you’ve got there!
• That’s a really cool Ipad2!
• Hello from the day that Kim Jung-Il died! Oh, you didn’t know? Sorry to break the news. I heard about it on twitter. Isn’t that crazy that I got breaking news from twitter? What a contemporary world we live in contemporarily.
• Buenas 99 percenter!

Get it? All of those things are relatively contemporary and they’re all kinda greetings. Okay! Well, welcome. I need to hit the hay! This week I’m going to tell you all about Panama. Are you jazzed? Sure you are.