Enjoying nature = weird?

Dude, the weirdest thing just happened to me... I went on a walk tonight, and decided to walk barefoot through this grassy field in front of a church near my university. After a while, I lied down in the grass, so I could feel more connected with the Earth, enjoy the view, look at some stars, and attempt to meditate. It was nice, and very calming.

But then, 4/5-ish people came over and asked me if I was ok. When I said yes, they asked me if I was drunk or high. I said no. Then, two of them started to take my picture! Dude, they really could've asked first! (Not that I would've said yes...) So I put my hand over my face. One of them told me I should go back to my dorm. Seriously? Who are they to tell me what to do? So I said, "Dude, seriously, I'm not stupid, I'm not high, and I'm not a model. So don't take my picture, please." Then one of them told me I was cool, and that what I was doing was a good idea. So I told him thanks, and peace. I heard them talking and laughing about me as they walked away... And then like a minute later another person passing by asked if I was ok.

I appreciate that people are concerned, since it was like 1 a.m. here, and I was laying out in the middle of a field and could have been dead or something. But seriously? Do I have to be drunk or high to enjoy nature? And what right do they have to take pictures of me without my permission, just so they can post them on Facebook for themselves and their friends to laugh at?


Sorry, this post/story was reaaaaally long. I'd be surprised if anyone is still reading. lol. Anyhow, hmmm, let's turn this thing into a question...

Have people ever made fun of you or thought you were weird for enjoying nature or doing other "hippie"-type things? (I'm sure the answer is yes, but still, peoples... any stories to share? Yay, story-sharing thread! lol.)

 

Well the propably were concerned becose it was night and girl is lying on grass.Nothing actually like that have never happened to me but,when i'm outside playing guitar,reading and things like that people start staring at me. Is it weird that i do those things outside?

 

Weird stuff, indeed. I can imagine somehow of course why they asked you if you're ok and stuff, but the picture? :tongue:
The right wouldn't really bother me, but I don't get the reason really..

Is looking and staring at someone who's doing those things saying that they find you weird? I'd look at ya probably if I'd walk by a person doing those things, and not because I find it weird.

 

Well nodiretionhome, I've been made fun of by everybody I know my entire life for trying live live as close to and in harmony with nature.I eat weeds wear nothing but short in the summer,would ride a bike 10 miles to work,recycle everthing,just trying to be a good human and not hurt mama natue!
My own mother and sister got together,when I was 32yrs old and had me thrown in the nut house for a mental evaluation.It turned out to be the best moment in my life!
After a two week stay, a extesive brain pick by 5 different shrinks, came the moment of truth. There's my mom and I sitting in the room of shrinks,and they announce, "There is absolutly nothing wrong with your son." She flips out and starts sceaming "But he smokes pot, hates money,and cars, and wants to go live on a mountain and not go to work!"They just shook their heads and said,"He's not crazy just different.We suggest he go out west, lots of people just like him out there."

 

Not fun they thought you were a nut because of those things though.

 

that's effed.

 

Wow, they sent you to a mental institution just for being a hippie? That's crazy! (Haha, pun vey much intended. .) But haha, I bet your familiy learned their lesson after that - loving nature does not make you crazy. I feel so lucky now for having the parents that I do - they basically let me do my own thing, and they've only thought I was crazy when I was depressed.

 

Your right i should not nag about how people stare at me.

It's horrible they put you in mental hospital just becose you are diffrent than them. Your mother and sister were wrong when they did that ,but they were only concerned about you.

 

people look at me all the time, at school, at the stores, basically every where i go. i don't really think i'm doing anything weird although it might be weird to them! and people specially look at me when i sit on the grass and just think! i've learned to deal with the staring, so now i just smile politley and say "have a nice day". even with my friendlyness some people still snicker about me when they walk away. before i used to think that there was something wrong with me because all these people talked about me, but now i know that they're just talking about me because they don't really understand what i'm doing or who i am. i'm sure that if they knew or understood more about my way of life they wouldn't talk behind my back!

 

Look at my sig...

who can not enjoy that?

 

the same thing happend to me except i didnt have the weird people around, i was on mushies though. it was my favorite trip ever because i felt like nature was the prettiest thing i ever saw. i felt like it was truly an experience everyone takes for granted.everything was so pretty and still is. but those people were jack asses... keep enjoying nature though!
peace

 

That's a nice way to think about it. Maybe they were just laughing because they don't really understand me or what I was doing... Maybe they've never seen someone like me before...

I think there are some people here (well, everywhere, really) who don't understand and don't want to even TRY to understand... my school is really, REALLY conservative... the last time I went barefoot on campus, some girls asked me if I shave my arms (wtf? who shaves their ARMS?)... and people are rude to my friend all the time because she's really liberal and is pro-choice. It really is a bad scence sometimes.

But still, I think you people are right... we shouldn't let negative people get us down or keep us from doing the things we love to do... I mean, some people only feel good about themselves by trying to bring everyone else down with them. So I guess I'll just "keep on truckin'" and try to ignore the jerks of the world. :/ We'll see how that goes...

 

it's truly beautiful just like the rest of mother nature :daisy:

 

I am the hippie population at my high school. thats how its been ever since i first started. The other thing aout my school is half of it is rednecks and skinheads, i am very out of place. I think i have people ask me stupid questions like that on a daily basis and i just got used to it and i answer all of the questions i get. My favorite thing is when i tell people i saw the same band 2 or 3 nights in a row, they just dont understand why. Another really funny thing is when im in an argument with a redneck and they try to use hippie or pot head as an insult. at that point i just stop talking to them and walk away.

 

hah that was such a cool story to read! it was a nice slap in the face to them at the end

 

Yeah, people sometimes think I'm a little oddball, like when I lie in the grass in the middle of town (grass is rare in tenerife, that's the only place you can find it). I don't really notice when people stare at me, though, someone I'm with always points out staring bystanders (and I still don't notice they're staring). Ignorance is bliss I guess! But alot of the time my mates think im weird for some hippie-like tendancies, like my home made shampoo, my constant hapinness, my ability to see good in everyone, my thirst for life, etc etc

 

i go out to my grandma's house out in the country to sit outside and just enjoy nature, and my cousin is always like "the only reason you come out here is to get high", but getting high is something i'd do in town, so it's not like thats why i go out there. i love nature, and to avoid people thinking i'm akward, i just go somewhere secluded.

 

I think taking pictures of you was a bit much. In fact, they sound like the strange ones in this case. I can understand why they'd question you to make sure you are ok. I saw someone doing the same thing a few weeks ago during the afternoon and was going to ask him if he was ok, but I could see that he was sleeping and didn't want to disturb him. I wouldn't take pictures of him, though . There is nothing wrong with enjoying nature . I am glad some people still find the time to do it.

Oh, and to answer your question, nothing like this has ever happened to me before, but sometimes when I am taking pictures in the forest, people walking by will give me strange looks. I guess they see nothing fascinating about what I am taking pictures of.

 

The pictures were to far, but can you really be mad at someone for not being familiar with a lifestyle they haven't been intriduced to

 

Hey there, people often fear what they don't understand, thats why the world is so violent. They were concerned at first, then it turned into fear, and they responded negatively to hide that fear.
Perhaps, next time, go to a place more secluded away from people, but only if its safe, and maybe bring a friend as a lookout... just in case.
Peace