Lo & Sasquatch

SASQUATCH LINE up IS OUT!!! 

"I'm running, laughing, a smile on my face from ear to ear. The sun is setting over the canyon and the smell of stale beer wafts my way. Excitement is overcoming my whole body as I arrive at the top of the hill and take in the scene for the first time. Of Monsters and Men is playing on the edge of a cliff. Behind them the canyon and river are lit up by a soft golden glow of the sun. A sea of people with not a care in the world are jumping and swaying to the beat of the music. I let out a yell of excitement and B-Lined it towards the crowd. I stand at the outskirts of the mob, my muscles tense for action; I take a moment to appreciate the sights and sounds of strangers rocking and singing along with the band in unison before I dive in and emerse myself in the music and become one of them."                                                                                   

-This was my first experience at Sasquatch  

Holy molly am I ever excited! For those of you who have absolutely no idea what Sasquatch is, I am about to rock your world (hahaha)! Sasquatch is a magical 4 day music festival held at the Gorge in Washington and is home to a couple thousand dirty hippies, hipsters, oldies and youngsters that all have one thing in common, a love of superb music, partying and camping. While the main draw of Sasquatch is the music, it's really so much more than that. There is something about being surrounded by thousands of strangers for 4 days that makes you feel alive. Making eye contact with someone as you both scream the lyrics to a song and realize the passion you both share for that band, hopping up on a random guys shoulders so that you can look Hey Rossetta! in the eye, dancing with the fist person you can find to the soul music of Charles Bradley, sneaking back stage to Bon Iver, realizing that you are at the mercy of a sea of thousands of crazed fans all chanting for Jack White. It's being able to make an immediate connection with someone through a common love of music... I'd compare it to little kids at the sand box; you go up to someone and ask if they want to be your friend and BAM they are your best friend!

Gracing the Sasquatch stage for 2013:

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis  

Mumford and Sons

Imagine Dragons

The Lumineers

Edward Sharp and The Magnetic Zeros

Atlas Genius

Radical Face

The Barr Brothers

Ryan Bingham

Capital Cities 

I think what I love about this festival is that most days of the year I do the same old thing, school, work, sleep, eat... I promise myself that one of these days I'll do something reckless, create memories I'll treasure till the day I die but usually by the end of the day I'm sitting on the couch...again. This festival give me the opportunity to get lost in life, really live in the moment and to let my mind stop ruling my decisions and for once live by impulse.
My purpose in sharing this is not to force people into going to the festival but hopefully to inspire someone to go after a dream or take a risk that will bring colour into a world that can be very black and white.

Lo vs Selfless

Being the youngest in my family I have had... well lets just say that I get away with murder compared   to my sister. 95% of the time get my own way and yes my mother usually sides with me and as far as punishment goes, I can generally get myself out of anything. I have this philosophy that if people don't expect much from me then I don't have to do/give much, and it has worked like a charm my whole life. Let me give you an example. I have this habit of not putting my dishes in the dishwasher and just leaving them in the sink. This drives my mother crazy and years of asking me to put my dishes all the way in the dishwasher gets tiresome so she just does it for me. Now if I randomly put my dishes in the dishwasher without being asked, even though I should be doing so anyway, my mother sings high praises to me. Case and point.
I would like to think that I have other redeeming qualities that make of for my youngest child syndrom but that aside, some may say that I am selfish and over the past few years my eyes have been opened and I realized that I really have been quite selfish.

There was a guy on Opra that once said giving is the key to lasting happiness, that true happiness is not found in new cloths, vacations, or over priced dinners but is found in helping others. Live outside yourself, stop looking at what you can do for yourself and look at what you can do to make someone else's life better. God has blessed us with these wonderful gifts and talents and He hasn't given us these gifts and talents to use them to make the individual happy but for that individual to use those talents to help others.
Charity: Love of humankind.  It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul. Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things

So today I shared a little talent I have with an elderly lady in my church. I used my "hipster tech savvy know-how" and taught her how to use pinterest. Such a simple thing that really didn't take much effort from my part but she was so appreciative! It brightened up the rest of my day. I felt better about myself, I was kinder and more patient with my family, and I went out of my way to help others for the rest of the day.
What's the lesson I have learnt? While it feels great to be lazy and focus on fulfilling my wants first, that only last temporarily and soon enough that happiness goes away and I am needing something else to make me happy. Giving charity and taking the time to put others before myself is lasting happiness and makes me feel better about myself than any new pair of shoes ever could. Not only that but it helps to strength bonds with the people who matter to me and helps me to make new friends, and whats going to last longer a new pair of shoes or a new friendship?

Lo vs. Baked Goods

After gorging myself with holiday baked goods, going for a short run. 

You know that feeling you get after eating too much sweets? Your stomach has expanded so much that inhaling and exhaling hurts. Standing up isn't an option so you crawl to where ever you need to go. The very idea of putting something in your mouth makes your stomach turn, and if a magic jeanie were to appear in front of you and grant you one wish, you would use it to go back in time and exercise some basic self control. This is probably one of the worst feelings in the world, because the pain is self inflicted. Instead of saying, "no I'm full and will regret this later," you eat 4 more cookies. 

I experienced this particular situation earlier this morning, and I was just so disappointed in myself. Not only did I feel fat and physically gross, but I felt defeated, like I let myself down, and to be honest I did let myself down. I would do anything to make the guilt go away and that is when I decided to go on a little run around my neighbour hood. Such a simple easy thing to do and yet it turned my whole attitude and perspective around. The fresh air and sun shine lifted my spirits, and instead of hating myself for giving in to temptation I came out with smile and a realization that while sweets may make me happy, that is only temporary. The lasting happiness comes from treating my body right, exercise and proper portioning. 

"The only thing standing between you and happiness is yourself, so get out of the way"