This modern day hustle I’m on, it’s a bumpy ride.  I start early and finish late. I juggle responsibility, analyze opportunity and take daily leaps of faith. I make bold requests and even bigger sacrifices. Some days feel like a holiday, others feel like I’m attending my own funeral.

My day went off the rails recently, and I needed to talk it out so I called my Dad late that afternoon. It doesn’t matter how old you get, some days you just need your Daddy.

The liberal, California-based ganjapreneur daughter needed her right wing, cattle raisin’, guns a blazin’ father. I didn’t even consider that it was toddy time in Texas during election season.  It was all about me, me, me as the phone rang in my ear.

“Hey, baby!”

“Hi, Daddy.”

And it was all about me - for thirty seconds - before Daddy took a turn on Radical Republican Avenue. The conversation was off the road and nose down in the ditch before I knew what hit me.

Good thing I was casually baked.

I won’t get into the details of our intense discussion, because that’s not helpful to anyone. But, I did recognize how different that conversation could’ve gone and I wanted to talk you through it.

Being high changed that conversation for me, thus, the entire experience for both of us. Cannabis quiets the nag, the perfectionist, the elitist. It quiets that part of me that needs to be right, or liked, or agreed with. Interestingly, cannabis also frees up that part of me that tells the truth in the most direct and loving way possible - my “gentle bulldog” side, as colleagues have coined it.

Instead of thinking about what I was going to say while Daddy was talking, I listened to him. I listened to every word he said and to all the things he didn’t say. I heard his fears. I recognized the worry in his voice. At one point, I flashed back to childhood, listening to old rhetoric I’ve heard every four years for the entirety of my life. I got it. I get him.

He said his piece. And then I said mine. 

I’m guessing Daddy was equal parts frustrated and proud as I challenged him to provide facts, broaden the scope of his thinking, and consider multiple perspectives.

 He might’ve even flashed back to my childhood a few times himself as I proudly assured him that everything was going to be all right... words he always used to assure me that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and helps define our character.

Of course, I can’t be exactly sure because I’m not going to poke that bear again until I go home for the Christmas holiday! I’m no dummy.

By nature, most folks fear change and find comfort in routine.  And the ruts in the road get deeper and deeper until it’s too impossibly scary to even think about changing course. 

Do you struggle having the difficult conversation or opening your mind to other people’s ideas, beliefs and values? Do you struggle mixing things up? Are you one of the “but we’ve always done it this way” voices in the meeting?  We’ve all been that person at one time or another!  But hear me when I say, an open mind is a terrible thing to waste.  And whether you believe the world is changing for the better or for the worse hinges solely on your perspective. 

For me, besides its miraculous medicinal and mind-opening qualities, I find cannabis cultivates healthy communication in even the stickiest of situations.

If you’re cannacurious, but a little unsure, I’m here and happy to help.  Ask me anything!

NOTE: Cannabis officially made the ballot in eight states for either adult or medicinal use: Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada and North Dakota. Nearly 20% of the country will be voting on whether or not to legalize pot in some form or fashion. I feel the momentum! 

Regardless whom you plan to vote for on November 8, do your homework, get to the polls and make your voice heard.

You matter. Your vote matters.

Love,

Jo

P.S. I love you, Daddy.