Wanna get high?

Just to get it out in the open, I used to get high. I smoked a lot of weed when I was younger. I did it for the reasons that most people do. It makes everything feel good. I don't do it anymore because I came to realize (while high, ironically) that I was diluting my life experience.

Yes, weed makes things easier to deal with. It creates a nice mellow that's hard to get otherwise. Essentially you're shutting down a lot of what makes you an individual. You become a simple creature enjoying the basic function of stimulus and response with little regard for anything else. You don't worry about your obligations and simply live in the moment.

My moment of clarity came after getting stoned and having one of my favorite meals to eat while being high. While enjoying my chicken fried steak I began to comprehend the thick layer of gravy. I noticed how it dominated the various flavors in the breading the cube steak was fried in. The lightly seasoned potatoes and green beans were also masked by the succulent, sausage gravy. Don't get me wrong, the gravy was delicious but it was hard to comprehend the meal without the gravy. There was a corner of chicken fried steak that hadn't been sullied by the gravy yet. I sampled it and was pleasantly surprised by how substantial the morsel was. It was probably enhanced a little by the weed but I still had enough sense to realize just how much I was missing because of that gravy. I finished my meal and gradually came down. I never smoked pot again.

I've learned to experience life on a grander scale. I use all of my senses consciously and without a filter. I smell just as many stinky things as I do pleasant things. In fact, those pungent aromas make me appreciate the nice smells even more. I've since discovered how great perspective is. It never existed when I was high. Everything was good. My desires were stifled because I had no reason to reach higher than I was. Sitting on a shitty couch amidst a cloud of smoke while watching "Smokey and the Bandit" seemed like the perfect way to go through life. I never realized just how pathetic my existence was until I started to actually live.

You need that little bit of discomfort to remind you why you strive for better things. It's not about possessions either. If we were all complacent at the onset of our lives we wouldn't learn how to communicate with each other. As we grew there would be no desire to learn about the world around us. We'd simple enjoy what was right in front of us. We'd be cattle.

People will still get high and that's fine. It's not my place to tell them how they should spend their money or time. All I can do is set an example and show that there is life after weed. Imagine watching a crappy movie and realizing why it sucks. Imagine watching a good movie and realizing why it's good. Imagine your life without the gravy.