Four Twenty.
Ahh finally, a ‘holiday’ I can get behind! I’ll even run a shop promotion! Website discount code at the end of this strange story.
My Cannabis story. One of those “drugs” I never explored during my teens or twenties, in fact I believe I was 28 when I first tried the plant. My father used to introduce me to people as his “daughter that goes to art school but DOESN’T SMOKE WEED!” Well Dad, sorry to disappoint!
It was actually my father who introduced me to the plant, to see if it would help with my migraines. For a number of years, I was suffering from at least 4-5 migraines a month. I was fed up and reached out to a neurologist who could squeeze me in their schedule… 4 months away. So I decided to give medicinal marijuana a try. Fast forward to where we are now, I might have had one migraine per year. All because of a plant that I was too afraid of because I worked in the public school system.
Cannabis changed my life completely. Not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. It started to unlock doors to my mind that I avoided, intentionally or unintentionally. It caused me to think deeper about who I was and why I do the things that I do. It triggered reflections into my past and how I’ve transformed either good or bad due to those circumstances.
I understand cannabis is not for everyone, and not everyone has good experiences with it. I understand everything can be ‘overdone’ and used improperly. For the remainder of this post I will explain the typical stereotypes and misconceptions about the plant and how it has related to my life.
🌿”Stoners are lazy and don’t want to work.”
-Okay fine… I quit the pension system for this plant. No, seriously... I did. I left my teaching career to be a Budtender. I never made it to the budtending position because the stars never ended up aligning, and I resigned to be a larping Potter instead. So to break the typical stereotype… this plant pushed me to take a terrifying leap and follow my own passions to start my own business selling my art. I can also disagree with the lazy statement, I wake up earlier and go to sleep later now than I did while teaching. I refuse to sit and I am constantly working on something. My motivation and drive has increased tremendously; quite possibly due to the fact that I am following my passion... but I also give credit to the plant for the encouragement.
🌿”It will make you super paranoid and uncomfortable.”
-Oh hell yeah this has happened, and I can’t wait to one day share some of these hilarious stories. What I later realized that during these incredibly unfortunate experiences was I was facing anxieties I didn't know existed. I 100% never knew I had anxiety before I started smoking cannabis. They were deep rooted fears and insecurities that I was not facing but simply suppressing, and the plant brought them to the surface and I now understand how to better deal with my emotions and fears as they arise. I no longer move into that stage of paranoia, and I now know how to handle the anxiety I never knew I had. I've learned how to now calm myself from a stressful or anxious situation and sink into a still heart-space; I don't know if I would be able to without experiencing the very uncomfortable feelings that cannabis brought up in the past.
🌿”It is just another escape just like alcohol. It is a gateway drug.”
That can be very true, if used with poor intentions. The plant actually pushed me to quit drinking alcohol, and that wasn’t even a goal I set for myself. It was honestly the most random experience to wake up one day and no longer have a single desire for alcohol. I’ve attempted to have a drink here or there over the years, but I either lose my drink or pour it out before I can get myself to complete it. I now kick it with a Caprice-Sun or Kool Aid Jammer… super fancy I know.
Escapism unfortunately is common amongst users with the plant, and maybe some souls do search for something a little heavier. In this case, it is always important to set intentions when lighting up. Lighting up “to forget the world” or “escape this pain” is never a positive intention.
Lighting up to “reflect on my pain, sit with my pain, heal my pain” is a more appropriate intention for using the plant for healing. Yet the media pushes the idea that cannabis is to be used for partying, being lazy and a menace to society.
I do strongly believe that this plant has healing potential, but it can only be done with proper intentions. I am forever grateful for the experiences I have had, good and bad. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today, advocating for cannabis, if it wasn’t for my father and his peer pressure. My father is a cancer survivor who has found great pain relief in medicinal marijuana and neither of us are ashamed of the negative title society still carries on this subject.
I am 100% not ashamed of leaving the public school system for the cannabis industry, even though I never made it there. I remain forever grateful for that opportunity because it was one of those steps that I needed to push me in the direction of following my dreams… whatever it is that happens to be! I will forever be grateful for the plant, as I know our ancestors for thousands of years have relished the healing abilities that it carries. Politics of the 20th/21st century could disagree, but I also strongly believe self-healing methodologies have been suppressed for far too long. Mental and emotional healing are imperative to our physical bodies, and I do believe we are shifting to a time where people are starting to recognize that.
My appreciation for the plant, and my obsession with crystals has sparked a line of smoking pipes that has been a crowd favorite since the start of my journey. New crystal pipes on the online shop, and some more still making their way over.
Happy 420 friends!
Sitewide coupon code for 15% off today and tomorrow : [ 420take15 ]
4/20 - 4/21
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