what to say: thanks universe

about this RISE festival...sometimes beauty is surrounded by nightmare.

the end result was memorable. 10 thousand people gathered in the middle of the mojave desert on yoga mats. we busted out our picnic. wrote on our sky bound lanterns in preparation for the first communal release. their first lantern message they wrote was "i hope for this..." "i seek for this...". we lit the lantern and set them loose all at the same time. my heart felt like it skipped some beats. my 15 year old girl was giggling and twirling. my 13 year old boy was silent in awe. the messages on their next lantern was "god is great" and "families are forever."

thanks for the double rainbow that night's sunset, for the vast desert, for the lanterns that did not catch on fire, for no riots, for connection, and for these two humans. they are 10 thousand times more delightful then i ever could have imagined.