The Hudson Project changed my life. No, really it did.
On Saturday of the Project, I embarked on a new and unknown journey, allowing myself to find unity and trust amongst the other festivalgoers in a way that I had never done before. Sitting in the grass next to a stranger discussing freedom and happiness, getting royally drenched during the Big Gigantic set and dancing in the rain, making new friends in the mud, and dancing to the music of Moby as it corresponded to the music in my heart, the takeaway was the same. Modest Mouse says it best, “We’ll all float on,” but until Saturday I didn’t know or fully understand what that meant.
When I think about where I was when I first started writing, about 7 or 8 years old, I wasn’t in the greatest place. When I was 12, I lost my best friend- two of them if you count my dog- and that was the time I started my first novel. High school and college happened, and there were numerous up’s and down’s- the story goes on. I found myself in New York about a year and a half ago and going through the motions- work, play, friends, booze, boys. On Thursday morning (so, yesterday morning) I woke up and realized that the place that I’m in is the exact place I’m supposed to be, with all of you, of course.
What happened at Hudson was a moment of clarity that led to an insane amount of inner peace. We’ve all had up’s and down’s in our lives, we’ve all experienced turbulent moments; we’ve all been ready to give up on our art for external reasons, and we all continued to float on. What’s beautiful is that the Hudson Project, despite its overwhelming amount of downfalls (cancelled shows, mud everywhere, cars stuck, etc.) is that it brought together a group of like-minded people who all, for the most part, share an inherent need to be free, live free, love others, and connect on a deeper // spiritual level with those similar to them as well as with the universe.
Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect is real. It’s a way of connecting with strangers that hold and have similar aura’s of positivity. And, once you come across a community of people who believe that peace is the only way, it changes who you are and how you see, feel, and react to the universe.
So, I thank you Hudson, for opening my eyes to that world. And hopefully in some small way, I can continue to share that with the readers of Left Bank. If you ever want to send a note, have a chat, discuss literature or the history of the trees, don’t hesitate to reach out -> leftbankmag@gmail.com.
Namaste.
Editor // Curator