What Glastonbury Taught Me.

The place where you can put life on mute.

I've been to Glastonbury twice.

Once in 2014, the year I got married, we made it our first honeymoon (we also went to Antigua, because why not have two honeymoons?!). The second time was in 2017, eight whole years ago, though it feels like five minutes and a lifetime ago all at once.

I’ve done a fair few festivals over the years… Leeds, V Fest, Neighbourhood but none come close to Glastonbury.

And it’s not hard to figure out why.

It’s not just the music (although that’s unreal). It’s not the vastness of the site. It’s something else entirely.

It’s escapism.

From the lie that is:
“You have to be like this…”
That constant hum in the background of ‘real life’…the jobs, the bills, the endless doing. The voice that tells us to behave, stay in our lane, earn money, pay tax, keep going, don’t stop…

But inside the Glastonbury gates?

It’s another world entirely. A world which says:
“Be who you are. Wear what you want. Dance if you feel like it.”
That tiny permission slip to just be is life-changing.

There’s something about Glastonbury that reminds you that joy doesn’t have to be earned. That you’re allowed to laugh, wander and be gloriously unbothered for five whole days.

And every time I’ve left, I’ve thought:
“What if everyone was this happy, all the time?”

And no, I didn’t get tickets this year. And yes, there’s a very real chance that I may never go again.

But weirdly… I’m okay with that.

Glastonbury has taught me that you’re allowed to take a break from life.

And because the tickets are harder to come by than rocking horse poo then maybe it’s time we started asking…

How else can we recreate that feeling?

• What would it look like to carve out just one day (not even five), where you left the stress and general bollocks at the metaphorical gate?

• What would it feel like to put your phone away, dance in your kitchen, wear sequins and laugh with your best mates, just because?

• What if we stopped saving our joy for Glastonbury, or that holiday or some random date in the future and started sprinkling it into the everyday?

Because what makes Glastonbury magical isn’t just the music, it’s the freedom, the joy, the escape.

And that’s in us.
We just need to remember it.

Love Sophie xoxo