Let's RiSE

We all have a movie scene that from the moment we saw it, we’ve wanted to live it out in real life. For me it was the scene in the movie Tangled where Rapunzel was surrounded by thousands of floating lanterns. This past weekend I got to live out that scene at the RiSE Festival.

R- is for Rapunzel of course! I got to feel like a Disney princess for a night. What’s cooler than that?! Dream come true.

I-Inspiration. My mother and I were inspired to use our first lantern to write all the things that we wanted to let go of… “our crap” is what we called it. Our second was for our dreams. The whole event was full of inspiration. Seeing thousands of people writing on lanterns to release them into the sky... kind of incredible.

S-Surrounded and Speechless. The entire crowd lit and released their first lanterns all at once. In “3… 2… 1…” thousands of lanterns were released and the sky lit up with dreams of those that I was surrounded by. It was truly magical. I was in awe and completely speechless.

E- Emotions. It was a surprisingly emotional experience. As my mother and I wrote on the lanterns, the things we wanted to let go and the things we were dreaming of, tears filled my eyes… Here I was, being given a chance to physically let go of what has been holding me back. You could feel the energy of everyone in the crowd. It was one of the most spiritual and tranquil feelings I’ve had. After the first lantern release, my mother and I stood there, crying happy tears, trying to take in this incredible moment that we had been given. We hugged each other and she said to me “This is so cool!” then we cried some more happy tears.

As incredible as the night was, one of the most tangible emotions was Gratitude. As I stood watching thousands of lanterns float higher and higher above my head I was overwhelmed with gratitude... grateful that the woman who has supported me through the toughest of times and the happiest, was standing beside me to experience this moment with me. Grateful that she knew how much this event meant to me, so she extended her trip to make sure that she could accompany me and make it special. We lit a few more lanterns and released them. Each time just as magical as the previous.

THANK YOU!

When we were preparing our final lantern my mom looked at me and asked “What do you want to write on it?” I smiled and said “I kind of just want to write ‘Thank You’”. She smiled and nodded, because she had had the same thought. Thank You to the Rise Festival for making my dream come true! Thank You to the universe for the abundance of gifts! Thank You to God for giving me such a spiritual experience! And Thank You to my mother for sticking beside me!

THE LESSON:

I’m vowing to let go of my crap and chase my dreams. It’s time that we all take a moment out of our hectic lives and purge ourselves of those things that no longer serve us. It’s time to let go of the guilt, the self-doubt, the judgment and let yourself live in a higher state of mind where only the good can thrive. I was able to physically write my “crap” on a lantern and “let it go” into the sky, where it is no longer attached to me. Whatever works for you… just do it. Let yourself live! Stop holding yourself back.

It’s fall, the season of letting your dead weight fall to the ground. So what are you still holding on to? Is it serving you? No? Then let it go. Allow yourself to live in freedom from the things that don’t serve you.

Together we will RiSE.

XOXO,

Dorothy in Sin City