Is Life Still a Festival?

April 1, 2020 Eamon Armstrong

Life is a Festival #59: World of Wisdom Podcast with Nils von Heijne

Marco Cochrane's R-Evolution from Burning Man 2015 shot by Galen Oakes

Can we still live life like a festival when there are no festivals for the foreseeable future? When there are no gatherings at all? With a global pandemic, a faltering economy, and profound uncertainty moving through the world, can life still be looked at through the lens of open hearted celebration?

Life is a Festival is guided by the belief that we can kinder, more open, and more expressed by taking the lessons and collective effervescence we experience at festivals and bringing them into our daily lives.

Today’s episode is a repost of an interview I did on Nils von Heijne’s podcast World of Wisdom. We speak about how festivals are to social interaction as psychedelics are to the mind. We explore life as a festival, as a garden, as a movie, and as a song. We ask “What if the virus is the medicine?” and “What if Donald Trump is a teacher?” With acknowledgment of our profound privilege and deep respect for those suffering around the world, we ask, how can we use this time to grow?

I believe that keeping the fire of celebration burning inside is part of our resiliency. While I am personally learning to be humbler, to be softer, and to be more oriented towards serving the most vulnerable, my heart is still full of joy.