Editor’s Table: What’s Your Modern Hippie?

Jaszy (Head Honcho): I am not a vegetarian. I’m not overly crunchy, and I don’t go around hugging trees. I am most days indifferent to the government… Uncle Sam and his Big Brother. What I am is aware, conscious of choices I make for myself whether purchasing cleaning supplies or clothes. And this does not mean that I choose “eco” every time, as much as I’d like to. What is happening to our environment and to our structure and sense of community is important to me, two of the main reasons why I started publishing Modern Hippie Mag.

It was never my intention to define what being a modern hippie should be for you. I was simply looking for a vehicle to make sense of what it meant to me and perhaps along the road we could compare notes, provided you chose to be on the same or similar path. For me, being a modern hippie means taking note of the essence of the original hippie ideal; love of neighbor and peaceful living, and find ways to make them personal. Why and how you chose to support the modern hippie lifestyle is as personal and unique as you are.

Adwoa (Managing Editor): My way of modern hippiedom is about celebrating curiosity, confluence and contradiction. I’m a highly cerebral massage therapist who sees that work as communication – in only a slightly different vein from my writing. I focus on quality and durability in an age of planned obsolescence, and I treasure vintage and pre-loved objects regardless of source (from gorgeous Goodwill flatware to pets from the animal shelter!)

This may or may not be specifically modern-hippie-related, but I have an insatiable desire to know more about my surroundings. Curiosity leads to compassion, and then to being careful, or just taking care. I think everything has usefulness and dignity, from possessions to people. A big goal of mine in life is to honor them, and ask as many questions as are needed to make that happen.

Steve (Lifestyle Guru):I think that being a modern hippie means drawing from the passion of the first generation, while reinforcing it with the knowledge that has been gained since. In the first generation, there was this overall understanding that we should break free from the status quo – but it was a very youthful sense of rebellion without a clear understanding of what was being rebelled against.

Now, in the wake of the Information Revolution, we have matured in our insight as to what we are rebelling against and what paradigms need to change. A modern hippie is simply the blossoming of peace, community, and conscious living that our forefathers (and foremothers) planted.

Jerah (EcoFashion Huntress): It’s the DIY space in my life. When I get the chance to do it myself.I find a thrill in the times I teach myself something. That’s true whether it is making organic buckwheat chocolate chip cookies for my family, reconstructing a no longer worn long skirt into a short wearable piece, or geeking out in the online world building a blog.

I love the rewards I give myself, of knowing I can be a force for personal development in my own life daily. DIY brings me gratitude towards the process of making, mending and managing a lifestyle that is both conscious and living.

Shayna (Beyond Beauty Editor): For me being a modern hippie is about love, for the planet and for each other. Our love of the earth drives us to want to preserve it, and our love for people and the human experience anchors the belief that ours is a symbiotic experience. Love drives us to take action and be supportive of initiatives and habits that maximize the positive impact (and minimize the negative) on the world and the people around us.

Supporting local business, buying and growing organic, seeking out home, health and beauty products and fashion that are created cleaner and greener, volunteering, random acts of kindness… it all comes from the same emotional place. It turns out being a hippie – modern or otherwise – may be simpler than you thought.

What does being a modern hippie mean to you? Let us know in the comments. If you have any questions you’d like us to explore in future columns, please leave those ideas too!