become more of a hippie

I am becoming more in tune with my natural instincts. I listen to my body and gut feeling often. A rather natural approach is being taken with decisions regarding raising my four month old son and I am astonished with the intelligence my body is naturally equiped with. Our culture has completely undermined what comes naturally and I am beginning to question everything that is the norm.

Having a baby has given me so much confidence in myself and a completely new outlook. Even when I was pregnant, I was unsure if I wanted to breastfeed. Now I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I never thought I would cosleep, and it comes so naturally that I am happy that I ended up doing it. I plan to make my own baby food, or at least most of it.

This is a much more satisfying and less stressful way of life. I hope to keep incorporating more natural things into my life.

I have had my baby in disposible diapers out of pure convenience, but I would really like to switch to cloth diapers when I get the hang of things. Unfortunately I would still not be too environmentally fiendly by using disposible liners since I’m not keen on sticking my hand in the toilet to rinse the diapers, but it would be an improvement.

Now that school has ended, I have a lot of time to myself. I would like to get to the point again where I can use breathing and meditation to go inside myself and completely block out the outside world. I think this will be very beneficial in childbirth. I am currently reading the book Birthing from Within, which talks about using your inner strength to have a successful, quick, and wonderful birthing experience.

Also, I have been much more aware of how wasteful I can be with food and packaging. I would really like to start recycling, but we have no room in the kitchen for separate cans. We already recycle aluminum cans, but I feel that I don’t have much of a part in that since I rarely drink soda. I would like to at least try recycling paper, which would be very simple.

My awareness of those around me has also increased. No longer do I expect material things from loved ones and most of the time I prefer second hand items. I did not expect much for Christmas and I did not really ask for anything. I was still satisfied when I didn’t receive a whole lot (although it was more than I expected). My mentality has turned more toward what I can do with what I have and I strive toward simplicity.

These changes have brought me greater happiness and awareness. I feel as if my priorities are in the right order now.