Massaging At Glastonbury Festival – Part 6

As a massage therapist from York, here are my overall impressions of Glastonbury Festival…

Final Impressions

I wake up early the next morning. Glastonbury is over and it is a sunny day. I feel happy. By no means have I seen or experienced even a tiny percentage of Glastonbury. But I have no regrets. I’ve enjoyed the festival and, in many ways, I’m glad it’s over. Observing and absorbing all this creativity has been stimulating but exhausting. As I said in my talk, hedonism can be great fun, but if it continues too long it can become tedious. The community of a festival lasts long enough for you to enjoy other people’s company without being irritated by their faults. It really is time to go home.

I am in no hurry to get off site. Instead, I watch the hoards leave. This time they flee a war torn sight. Tents are left behind as is the debris of five days of intensive, no-holds-barred enjoyment. They look bedraggled. Some have a serene, content air about them. Others look disappointed at having to leave this oasis they have at last found. But I can see no one who looks unhappy.

If any other festival can be likened to a small village at most, Glastonbury is a megacity. It is definitely something that everyone should experience at least once – even if they end up hating it. If you let it, it penetrates deep into your psyche. It can be life changing, but this can depend on which part you visit and how much you’re willing to let go of who you are. It will certainly give you a deep insight into another perspective: you will never feel the same again.

Glastonbury is amazing. It stimulates and moves you. It takes you to places you have never been before. The serenity of meditation is mirrored, giving you the same insight, but to a different part of your being. However, be careful. To quote Nietche: “If you look deeply into the abyss, be sure the abyss does not look deeply into you”.

“Glastonbury differs from all other major rock festivals in that it has an underlying ethos: to make the world a better place” according to the programme. I would agree with this and have a great deal of respect for Michael Eavis and all the other unsung heroines/heroes for their sincerity, vision and faithfulness to what they set out to do.