THREE LADIES. ONE CAMPFIRE. A loss of an ex's shirt.
MY VERSION OF "BURNING MAN"
Somewhere high in these Rocky Mountains, there lies a campfire with remnants of an ex boyfriend's shirt and memories of an epic girl party.
Recently, two girlfriends and I ventured into the woods for a night of good times, and letting go of other times.
Now before you start imagining three jaded man-haters spinning yarn, while a flurry of our pet cats run around the campsite, hear me out: this wasn't totally about the ex-boyfriends, or even about men at all, for that matter. We even all love men, for that matter.
'Twas a night of redemption, of lady-power, a declaration of new beginnings and freedom from our own past mistakes from a range of sources from our personal or work lives spirited with wine and good pals.
Learning to "let go" has been somewhat of a theme in our modern pop-culture, gone viral by an actual Disney princess. If you are currently singing Let it Go in your head, I applaud your decision as I am too. And still do, when life turns an unexpected twist, forcing those wise words from the frosty queen to come into play.
But what does letting it go actually mean? What happens when the music stops and those uncomfortable feelings spew to the surface reminding us, we haven't let it go?
Whatever excess baggage still exists, and in turn, is blocking the next best thing from coming into our lives.
It wasn't the ex-boyfriends that were holding us back, each of us were over the people themselves. It was what they represented. Those more stickier parts of life. When things got messy, and black and white become grey. It was the lessons they taught that we still hadn't learned. The chapters of our lives they represented that hadn't been let go of, and the cycles of life that were returning in different forms teaching the same lesson, whether through our work or our play, i.e bad employers, or work issues.
It was the bad experiences that needed to be let go of. The times when feelings whether of insecurity, inadequacy, betrayal or distrust first were planted, and left our souls a bit burnt. Let's face it: to be burned is to be human. Our "letting go," needed more of a moment.
I asked my sweet lady friends (who were game as soon as I told them of my plan) to bring boxes of their past along to our camping adventure..things that represented those awful chains still weighing them down. Don't worry the boxes were light, but what was in them held meaning.
This is how three friends ended up happily dancing around a campfire, singing and cheering in the light of a summer moon. Intentions were set and bits and pieces of the past were appropriately let go of, and yes an ex-boyfriend or two's shirts were sacrificed in the process. Why we still had them? Don't ask, it's a girl thing...
All jokes aside. It was a memorable moment that I will never forget. And as such, if you are finding yourself in need of a good let go. Save the money to Burning Man and create your own night with friends under the welcome mat of stars and mountains filled with grace, and by all means, burn your own "man."