Do you feel the need to be quiet about your cannabis use because of judgement or repercussion? Do you find you hide parts of yourself or need to over explain yourself about your actions in your life? How freeing would it feel for you, if you could just be accepted for YOU as YOU make decisions about YOUR life? Cannabis use is just one area of many we are judged on and it’s definitely not anything that we should be ashamed of or judged by much less locked up for but yet we are and many are. More and more people are coming into the open and in unity of their cannabis appreciation and use but there are still many that are in the closet. We only hide something that is “wrong”, something that we are ashamed of, or fear that we will be negatively judged because of it. By hiding it, we are falling in line with the stigmas as we ourselves hold a level of shame of it. Of course it’s whatever someone is comfortable revealing (no judgement) but the more of us can show that cannabis is healing for us, educate others on it through communication, the shame of it from beliefs of past becomes less and less and the freedom we all seek as cannabis users can increase more and more.
The stigmas of cannabis is something we have to overcome as users as part of our pursuit of freedom of self. It’s something we’ve had to hide from others who disapprove, therefore sealing part of ourselves off from people, and many times, those people are our loved ones. I actually know of someone in a relationship where she would have to sneak around to smoke so to hide it from their partner. That not only builds distrust and other issues within the relationship but how could one possibly be happy to not fully show who they are to their partner, someone that knows them intimately? I could not imagine having to do that and be content with that relationship. Aside from that one example, most of us are held prisoners by other’s beliefs daily, not just on cannabis views, but with everything we do and say. We either allow them to by not standing by our beliefs for one reason or another, or we are not even aware that it’s happening because we’re so used to it. Our innate need for acceptance and connection causes us to act based on what the majority deem as right. We automatically fall into a belief without really questioning it and exploring it for ourselves most times. This is known as herd mentality. Most recent example of herd mentality is the introduction of covid. There are opinions from every side with judgement on all. I had recently seen a friend post about going out to her first party since covid but made sure she explained that she went out only after being vaccinated and that she wasn’t inside the crowd but rather on the outskirts. When I read the post, I immediately thought, why is this queen explaining and justifying to the public, her actions that she needed and felt right for her? We have this need for others to know that we are like them and think like them so that we can accepted by them.
Day in, day out, we do what’s expected of us based on what others think, fulfilling one title or another. Making sure we don’t lose approval from those we care about and sometimes even from those we don’t know or need to care about. We need to be seen a certain way because if not, we might lose people from our lives. Most are afraid to voice their opinion if it’s not the popular one because we don’t want to be cast out. I say “fuck that!” We’ve lived long enough for others. We’ve lived in too many boxes and titles that were already created for us from birth. It’s time to free ourselves in the most direct way we possibly can, by being our truest selves. By believing in our intuition that guides us to what’s right for us and have the courage to speak, act and live it. So we lose some people along the way, that’s ok. If they can’t accept us because we decided on doing what’s right for us, they no longer serve our highest good and we need to make room for those that will accept us. Acceptance does not mean agreeance. Someone can still love and accept you without agreeing with you, and the great thing is, they don’t have to. They can do what’s right for them but understand and not judge you for doing what’s right for you. We as a society love to judge, and we’re all guilty of it. Hell, we judge ourselves the harshest. It’s ingrained in us from birth as well. We are told what’s right or wrong, what is acceptable to others and what isn’t, some of these guidelines were to protect us, but a lot of it trained us to prejudge everything and everyone. And it created a great fear within many of us to be ourselves because we want to be accepted. Hence, we live the lives that keeps us in acceptance by our family, friends and society, meanwhile, feeling the dissatisfaction from not being our authentic selves.
That is not living to me. I choose the freedom to stand in my truth and my power rather than be controlled by other’s beliefs and expectations. Let us not be afraid to think different or to be different. Let us use our gift of communication to gain acceptance, clarity and understanding, rather than using it to justify our actions against someone else’s beliefs. It’s not about right or wrong on a whole but rather perspectives of each individual based on their circumstances. It’s about education and sharing your truths with others and being open to see their perspectives as well. For us, breaking the stigmas of cannabis so that we no longer need to hide in shame is only a small part of being free to be ourselves, free to show love and appreciation for this plant medicine that is so healing for so many of us. The true greater freedom lies in the power we all have to live our lives the way we want, acknowledging and showing all parts of us, without care or fear of judgement but with pride. Especially If we are privileged enough to live somewhere where the restriction of our freedom is not as apparent as other places in the world. It starts with being aware of ourselves, to look at our lives to see whether we are truly living as our best and truest nature. Identifying where we aren’t and why, and whether it’s something in our power to change. Then start to explore how you want to live and put forth small effort to freeing yourself and your mind everyday, so that you can live more according to YOU, freely and unapologetically. Regardless of what you’ve been told, we all have the divine power to create and change ourselves. We just need to lose our conditions and fears of rejection, abandonment, loneliness, unworthiness, lack of love, and whatever else keeping us prisoners from our freedom. There’s no need to hide yourself to try to hold onto to the false sense of acceptance. Accept yourself, and all those who will truly accept you without expectations of you will show up.
