#daysnnights

Ineffable: adjective meaning - too great or too extreme to be expressed or described in words. 

There is a little town, just outside of another little town deep in the kootenay mountains.Where once a year a little over 10,000 people come to revive themselves. We let go of everything that may stifle us in our everyday lives, and In the first week of August in a little town called Salmo. We all head home to the beautiful place we call, Shambhala. 

I find it funny whenever a friend asks "HEY MAN!! how was shambhala?". Instantly, my reply is always, have you been before? because i can never answer. To be completely honest. Its Ineffable. The warm blanket that is the beautiful community up in the BC hills is indescribable in words. Its just home. The love and warmth that flows through the festival gives it life, and makes for an experience that will change you. It seeps into your soul and gives you a new outlook on the way you do things and who you want to be as a person. When i say that Shambhala is alive i couldn't mean it in a more literal way. It will grab your soul, eat you up, and spit out something so beautiful you cant help but feel reborn. Shambhala literally shits out rainbows and sunshine lol. Rainbows being the excellent array of music erupting from from any of the stunning stages, and Sunshine being all of us! The event staff, the volunteers, the attendees, the artists. We are all one big forest family living under the electric sky. 

Home is where the heart is, and Shambhala is where i can take my heart off my sleeve and hang it for safe keeping. I'm only a sophomore i guess you could say when it comes the shambhala. This past year (2014) was my second year, and honestly It was the best year i've been to BY FAR. The saying "Next year was better" couldn't be more true. My first year at Shambhala was a little overwhelming. There is so much to see and so much going on it was a little hard to understand what was actually happening to me. The spiritual and emotional journey i had inadvertently thrown myself into hadn't taken its grasp yet. But by the third night (it took me an extra day, kinda blew my party load day 1) i understood. The shambhala community took me by the hand and showed me the way to be a better human being. My Padawan training had begun, and when i returned this year i was ready for my Jedi trials. This year i automatically opened myself up, met new people, had the deepest conversations with the most random old friends i had simply just met. It becomes second nature, and it ends up flowing through everything you do. Returning home you start to notice the little differences. The homeless man having a deep conversation with himself, where once you would pay no mind, you'll buy him a meal and give him the cigarettes in your pocket. Being humble, and taking care of the less fortunate among us becomes the fuel that drives you. All of this stemming from a small little place deep in the hills of BC. It's home, and its made me remember whats important. Being human, having peace and understanding. Just a few things that I think you start to lose sight of a little as you grow older. 

These are just some thoughts i've had, and i just wanted to share my journey with anyone listening. So, as it comes back if you were to ask me "How was Shambhala?" I still couldnt answer. Its a journey, and honestly its different for every single one of us. If u were however; to ask "What is shambhala to you?" My answer would be simple. 

It's Home