the path

I don't even try to argue anymore when I hear shallow (by shallow I mean it's usually vain, arrogant, meaningless) statements people make about themselves that are either 1) fishing for compliments or 2) meant to put other people down by making themselves look better, where I would once listen and try to understand their words, address their passive aggression by responding, once in a while counteract with something rude, or brush it under the rug. Now, I look at the person and I think to myself "No way are we going down this path again." I don't respond and I leave that person alone. Possibly for good. I don't want that energy in my life anymore. Los Angeles. California. Any big city in America. It won't change when I am in SF, or NYC. People wanna know people, appear cool, perhaps they are searching for thier identity, I am not sure, what I do know is that people are so disconnected from what is important, and so blind-sided by the american dream whether it be the idealized lifestyle of fame (yes rockstardom is included here) or image (um...being thin, or tattooed or pierced because it's cool and supposedly sets you apart not because it's representative of them though really) or status (owning property, having the nice car, basically being rich) that people forget who they themselves truly are, and what they stand for.

Veganism- Here is an example of something I am doing because of my political beliefs, and yes, people think I am doing it because of my health, because I am trying to lose weight or something. No honey, in India we are brought up to be kind to animals. What our country is doing to turn a profit: the meat industry is really disgusting. It's a hard road for me esp because I love leather boots & leather jackets. Not because I like meat, in fact I rarely eat pork, or beef. Chicken is the one thing I do eat, and I can substitute it with beans, and tofu. Still its hard. I already avoid cheese and eggs. Still its hard and it really gets frustrating when people tell me, "beans don't really have a lot of protein," or "i love meat, what would I do without meat?" Seriously? I am disgusted by the meat industry and your loving meat is disgusting to me, not to mention protein? Seriously? Protein can be gleaned from leafy veggies. get a clue.

Kundalini Yoga-I like to meditate. It helps me stay in touch with my values, and beliefs. Once again people think I do it for weight loss or something. Please don't compare kundalini to your kick boxing class. Quite a different phenomenon. There is nothing aerobic about Yoga (unless you do Bikram) and America is so obsessed with weight loss that they forget that being in a comfortable happy mental place cures most ailments including over-eating.

Maybe its my age. I'll be 35 in a month. At 26 I was wild, I was a transient, moving around, getting high, I made no money, I played in a reggae band, and I was traveling aound Egypt. The 26 year olds I know are career driven. It's a very different place I am at now watching what is very traditional to me. So, when I get advice from these traditional minded people, who by the way remind me of my mother and have no idea about my experience nor the bravado to live that life, who on top of reminding me of my mother are almost ten years younger than me, I feel irked and resentful. And tired. I am tired of educating, placating people's arrogance and fighting all the time for what I believe to be true and real, so sometimes it's just easier to shut up and walk away.