we're all a bunch of FREEks

**************



so many people read this blog.

like- kind of a scary amount I find out...

it's totally fine.
I love you and I'm honored you want to share this experience (A.K.A. my life) with me as I stumble towards love and light and vow to laugh at myself the entire way...
i write this to myself as much as i write it to you, my loved ones and friends...

...and by the way, even if you're a stranger- as my friend Mick said in Padang last month, 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet' so you're my actually my friend too.

so dear me & you...

dear us,

here's what is on my mind today.

I've found we can't take ourselves too lightly...
...in otherwords-- what is the point actually of taking life seriously?

it seems we just end up like ol' man river:

"you an me
we sweat and strain
body all achin and wracked with pain
tote that barge
an lift that bail
ya get a little drunk an ya lands in jail.
ah gets weary
and sick of tryin
I'm tired of livin
but scared of dying...."

whoa.
right?

I mean-- here's the f'd up part- there are 27 million people in slavery today around the world
look at www.freetheslaves.net

but you and me-- we're free.

(I say that statement believing that I probably know you- or know of you and I don't know any slaves personally... so i am making a conclusion that i deeply hope is accurate.)

you are free.

the only thing that holds you back is the reigns of fear that YOU have placed upon your own shoulders.

so, calm your mind and wriggle free from your grip that holds you down.

but remember... only you can choose to let go.

only you can see the light through your eyes.

we are so blessed to be free.

we are supposed to be soaring. flying through the air and riding these waves and making it our mission to help free the others...

because we can.

I just don't see the point in toting that barge and lifting that bail with an aching body wracked with pain that makes you tired of this insanely beautiful gift of life, if you don't have to.

if you are not being forced to work until you're weary and miserable... why are you doing it?

the means to WHAT end?

a. there are no pockets in your coffin. you can't take anything with you and none of us get out of this life alive.

b. a spirit guide in my mind told me this one time:"the journey is the gift... the prize is the path."

maybe the whole point of life is to enjoy today.

I mean, shit... the dalai lama himself says "the key to life is to attain happiness."

so according to a. there should be no fear of dying cuz it's inevitable and a beautiful, natural part of life as we know it

and according to b. there should be no "sick of trying" cuz what the hell are you trying to do that could make you sick of it?

also for the record- I see no reason to throw someone in jail for being a little tipsy... sometimes it's good for people to let down their guard when a bit intoxicated.

I have seen the most hardened asshole kinda bro's cut a rug and dance like it's their job, laughing and telling me it's the best they've ever felt... and I've seen an entire country of uptight Brits let go every weekend as though the bottle under pressure pops off and all of a sudden everyone is in a state of high pressure release whenthey crack open the bottle. (literally and figuratively)

it's beautiful.

but guys, guys... let's use that as a tool to teach us what is possible... to show us our capacity to let go... and then do it daily without the crutch of booze or drugs or whatever.

let's just love each other
and love ourselves
and be ridiculously grateful for every moment we get to spend here on earth in these bodies... allowed to live freely.

so here is what I offer you today
which....
by
the
way

was
an
absolutely
G*L*O*R*I*O*U*S Mentawai day
that I got to spend out in the silky turquoise water
on a surfboard
paddling around the entire island
with a snorkel mask on my head like sunglasses
dunking my head under the water
and exploring the magnificent coral when my arms got tired of paddling.

I felt like the proverbial hermit crabs i'm always talking about...
charging it down the beach because he can...
forging new tracks in the sand/water...
totally dedicated to the direction he's going
(which for me, on the surfboard, was clockwise from the driftwood castle)
and when i decided to take a break... i would pull down that mask and scope the scene under the surface for a while just to hang out in yet another realm of surreality.

so after that day, sitting here pondering in the driftwood bungalow
here's what i have to offer:

you are free.
you are always free.
you may not see it now, but I promise you...

you.
are.
free.

exercise your freedom.

FREEk out today.

do something radical and amazing and a little scary.

but have no fear.
do not contract.

just dive in...

dive in to something.
anything.

because you can.

you can literally do anything.
even though you might not do it that well- ie my surfing, my guitar playing, my cooking, my handstands

but who cares!?
shit, I did all of those things today... because I could. and i wasn't a pro and kinda sucked at some of them, but whatever. who is keeping score?

I love you.
I love us.
we rock so hard.

let's rock out as freedom lovers... and go help someone who is not free.

this is Josh Hogan btw... i ♥ him. he ♥s free the slaves. you should ♥ his music cuz its risickulous. ya, i just said that.

anyways - if you feel so inclined to FREEk out like my FREEking amazing friends in venice... either check out freetheslaves, talk to tawnski and help free someone in literal slavery...
or find someone in your life that enslaves themselves in some way-
remind them that their confinement and unhappiness is their choice...
cuz we are free.

i think it has a lot to do with detatchment too...

the word "MOKSHA" means to release, or set free....
it's like freedom through detachment... ya know, basically, just letting GO!
(so much easier said then done of course.)

But it makes me think of one of my favorite points to ponder too... which is:

moksha beksho bandhaha
'even the DESIRE for liberation is bondage.'

so.. WANTING to be free is still not being free...

you gotta let go and allow yourself to fall.

for reals, though... when's the last time you let yourself fall?

try it!

i think you'll be surprised how many open arms are all around you to catch you.

and if you hit the ground, or slap your back on the water... it doesn't hurt THAT bad.

hope deferred makes the heart sick...
but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.

you gotta take a risk, step out and free fall... cuz you CAN... you lucky FREEk, you.