A few weeks ago, I went to the Glastonbury Festival for the very first time. Usually, when I say that, people ask me which artist I saw.
And I am probably going to disappoint you, but this is not the question I truly want to answer.
Because what I experienced, felt, and saw was not really about the artists and shows I attended (even though I have immense gratitude towards musicians and music that make my days happier).
What I saw at Glastonbury was a multi-generational festival, with really young kids and families, starting from a few months old, to a man who was 80 years old and holding a workshop there (and he was not the oldest at the festival).
Being around all those people, of all ages, felt so good. You could tell that some of them have been coming to this national reunion for years, almost since the beginning. I talked with this one guy, Michael, who explained to me that at the beginning, the animals from the farm were still present during the festival.
I felt honored to be there and staying at the healing field, where my dear friend and mentor Tina held meditation workshops every day. To feel the quiet and healing energy of this field that can’t be explained unless you experience it. To feel that you are part of something bigger and like a family. To experience this transgenerational knowledge being passed down throughout the week. To sit around the fire, with the fire crew, and share smiles, laughs, discussions, and songs. I have to say, sitting around the fire singing, I have been doing that since I was 8 years old. But those scenes were magic and felt like a dream or a movie.
I was able to meditate inside a festival of 200,000 people surrounded by music and noise. Where meditation alone at home feels most of the time impossible. But that’s the magic of Tina and the dynamic meditation she has been practicing and teaching for more than 10 years now. If you are curious about it and live in London, I would truly recommend you to take a look at her work (links will be put in the comments).
I felt the energy, the happiness, the immense creativity, and social/justice/climate engagement that this festival truly vibrates. I believe what Tina told me about those few days being the heart and pulse of England's creativity and joyfulness for the entire year to come. And for that, I felt even more honored to experience a nation's heartbeat and observe it in the most humble way.
On the last night, I was so tired I wanted to go home, but on the way home Tina showed me new scenes and spaces we had not encountered yet, so I would know about them "for the next time." At one of them, we listened to a guy playing marvelously with two guitars in a way that I only heard in a movie I love. It made me think of one of my 1st favourite movie - August Rush - where there is this one sentence that has always followed me ever since:
"The music is all around us, all you have to do is listen."
I want to leave you with this amazing thought, that music, love, and greater solutions are all around us. And all we have to do is know how to listen, see, and understand them.
All the solutions we are looking for are already there, I can assure you of that. It just takes one and a few to show them and make them real.
NB: Never forget that in Glastonbury there are only 2 rules:
- No glass (because it is a farm and you don’t want to hurt the animals when giving them back the land)
- Don’t accidentally leave the festival (or keep your ticket on you!)
Thanks for reading, And I’ll see you on the other side! 👋
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Pictures are mine and took on films. I used my Nikon FE, 50mm and shoot with Portra 400 films. 🎞️
Learn about Tina’s work and how to meditate and be aware of the present moment with Roam Within:
