Hippie Princess

Lately, my inner Hippie has been screaming at me. So, naturally, I had to indulge her. I got a hair wrap. Yep, with 3 pretty sliver leaves attached to the end just to really let my Hippie Princess shine. And then, a little over a week later I went to the Festival of Colors at the Hindu temple in Spanish Fork, UT. And after, had to take my hair wrap out because...well...it was gross.

This is my beautiful friend, Marci. She's a babe. And I love her.

Myself, Marci, and my friend Wes

We always have too much fun...

If you look REALLLLY closely, you can see my hair wrap.

As we were getting ready to leave. There are some sweet llamas behind us!

 It's quite the experience. [On a side note, that was a terrible decision on my part as I've been sick for the better part of 3 weeks and that certainly did NOT help me get better...] I think other cultures are so fascinating. I even went so far as to do a little reading about the Festival.

It's also known as Holi and is a springtime religious ceremony celebrated by Hindus. It's a celebration to usher in spring, celebrated as the season of love. Oddly enough, I found this little tidbit of information:

The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. The playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made ofNeem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors.

A special drink called thandai is prepared (commonly made of almonds, pistachios, rose petals, etc.), sometimes containing bhang (Cannabis indica). For wet colours, traditional flowers of Palash are boiled and soaked in water over night to produced yellow coloured water, which also had medicinal properties. Unfortunately the commercial aspect of celebration has led to an increase in the use of synthetic colours which, in some cases, may be toxic.

If only those darn colors truly had healing powers...I would be feeling so much better now I could cancel my visit to the doctor.

I can't say that I actively participated in any of the chanting simply for my own religious beliefs, but I hold great respect for other religions. After all, without religious freedom, I certainly wouldn't be in the position I am in now. I love that I was able to celebrate another's religious freedom with them this weekend and to learn  more about their faith. It's such an enlightening experience and I highly encourage everyone to learn about different religions with an open mind. It may just change the way you view life.

[oh, and I am in love with this man. I wish he wasn't already married. If you are a male who can sing like this, and will buy me a bouquet of wildflowers (or a calla lily) you will have my heart. The wildflowers remind me so much of picking flowers on our family ranch every summer and what freedom and love feels like.]