My Random Ramblings for December 2021

If you’ve been around here for a while, then you will know that I am a Christian Bohemian. Many people ask me what a Bohemian is because they think that it’s a gypsy. They believe Bohemians wander around aimlessly, dancing in fields to non-existent music all the time. That we look high most of the time and can’t conduct a proper conversation with anyone. I’m here to tell you that those are myths.

Yes, we may often wander but it most definitely not aimlessly. Yes, we may dance in fields and in the rain to the music that is in our heads but we don’t do that all the time. The problem in the world today is that everyone likes to put a label on everything. Let me tell you a secret about Bohemians that is not really a secret…we hate labels! We also hate being pushed into a box.

Not all Bohemians are the same. Because we don’t like labels, we don’t try and stick to a set of rules for how Bohemians are ‘supposed’ to act. The list I’m going to give you below is only an overview of how Bohemians are but it’s not a hard and fast rule. As a short precursor, I can tell you that Bohemianism is a lifestyle. We are free-spirited beings that are true to ourselves and hate covering our true feelings in order to fit in with others. We refuse to change our personalities to suit other people. Bohemians fight for their ideals, we show our true selves and we work hard at living out our dreams.

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Bohemians are usually enthusiastic about colourful patterns and prints. We have a certain style that is engrained into us that far surpasses leather bags or fringe boots. We are natural wanderers and have a special love for nature. In 19^th century France, they called gypsy’s, Bohemians too. We live unconventional and artistic lives.

#1 We follow our own ideals and live life to the fullest

As Jack Kerouac put it, you need to be ‘yourself at whatever cost’. Sometimes we reject mainstream society rules and those that oppose us in order to follow our own ideals and beliefs. As a Christian, I follow Jesus and His ideals. He made me the way I am and I love who I am. I am unapologetically me.

#2 We are in tune with our artistic sides

As from the book Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge by Laren Stover:- “Art is a way of life to the Bohemian, so it is difficult to separate art from life. They make it. They sell it. They barter it. They inspire it. They find it on the street, on the beach, in the Dumpster, in the stars. […] Walls, floors, shoes, shirts, sidewalks, street lamps, skylights, no surface is safe from the Bohemian with a paintbrush, marking pen, or glue gun. Broken objects may become art; broken crockery or scallop shells end up as mosaics.” I can tell you that this is very true for me too. I am creative. It runs through my veins. I get inspiration everywhere.

#3 We live mostly unconventional lives

We are not followers and do not like authoritarians and we definitely do not like people that go on power trips and try to dictate to us. I have seen it said that most Bohemians are broke but this does not go for all of them. There are some of us that have learnt how to live in this world of consumerism and capitalism even though it sometimes infuriates us. You will see that most Bohemians like to support small businesses. We don’t like to follow politics and usually don’t have much time for governments and all their nonsense.

#4 We are proud of being different

We are a little weird or even a lot weird and we love it. We stand out in a crowd and don’t like to blend in. We have no problem sharing stories of troubles that we’ve had so that you can learn from them.

#5 We embrace our bodies

Some Bohemians are into nudity but I am not one of those. I will be nude in my house but not in front of strangers. Even if my body is not perfect or thin, I am not ashamed of it because God made it. Yes, I want to lose weight but I don’t hate my body. I see some posts say that Bohemians are usually thin and are usually vegan. Well, I’m neither of those.

#6 We don’t believe in materialism

With me, I have stuff in my house but I made about 75% of it. I do not, however, have a whole lot of expensive ornaments, etc. If I like and need a furniture piece, I will buy it even if it’s not expensive. I won’t buy unnecessary furniture items or replace anything unless it is beyond repair. I don’t value money above all other things and I just use it as a tool. God, family, love, and life are a lot more important to me.

#7 We like to travel to new destinations

This is very true but not always possible.  I don’t like to follow a tour guide if I do go away, I like to go off the beaten track and discover new things and see the true side of a place. Not just what the tourism board wants you to see.

#8 I am close to nature in many ways

I do not like killing animals and feel very sorry for any of God’s creatures that may suffer a cruel death. I don’t like seeing animals suffer in any way, it upsets me greatly. I have looked at becoming a vegan but I love meat too much. Plus, God wanted us to eat meat, it is all over the Bible. I don’t like seeing that the animals are being treated badly though. I love walking in nature and taking photos. I always look for the beauty of nature even in the smallest of places.

I have seen that people seem to think that Bohemians are uneducated or that we’re idiots because we don’t follow all the rules of society or that we don’t want to be one of the sheep following someone just because they have instilled fear in us. Bohemians are well-educated. Even if we are not educated in institutions (which I have nothing against) we upskill and educate ourselves. We love reading, researching, and formulating our own opinions on everything because we don’t just want to follow the crowd or take someone else’s word for it. We love knowledge.

Love plays an important role in most Bohemians’ lives. We have a deep respect for the old. I am a peaceful person and I like to live out my values. I am filled with the joy of the Lord and I have His peace, even when my circumstances do not warrant peace. And yes, my hair is sometimes blue or stop sign red. Some members of my family don’t understand me or what makes me tick but it’s alright, they don’t need to. They just need to love me the way I am.

The biggest issue that Bohemians deal with is that people are forever trying to change us. They don’t understand us so they want to make us like them. Of course, being a Bohemian, this doesn’t go down well with us because we don’t like authority or social norms. I think the best is for people to just leave us be. We won’t try and force our opinions on them and they don’t force theirs on us. Simple.

Thank you for listening to my ramblings. Have you experienced any of these issues in society? Are there elements of a Boho lifestyle that you would like to implement into the way you live?

That’s it from me for now…

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