DrumSTRONG for rhythm, for life, for balance

I have been learning about my own inner rhythm a lot lately. And, how when I am in tune with the rhythms of the earth and the lunar cycle and my spirit, then I find balance. Rhythm in life, with our family, time with the kids, time for work, time for writing, time for my passions. It is all a balance, which is why our health and spirit are so dependent on our ability to find balance. And, the rhythm of a beautiful drum circle that encircled the globe was a soulful reminder of keeping that balance.

We arrived at Misty Meadows Farm the evening before DrumSTRONG 2012 started just outside Charlotte, NC. We had traveled from the mountains with The Conscious Caravan and everyone was excited and full of energy. We set up the Eco Womb Tour Bus and the Inspire to Inspire Public Art Project RV, along with The Conscious Kitchen, The Organic Sister and Oddball Juggling. We were a tribe ready to gather with the drum. Kids ran about across the fields, we set up hay bales for seats, and began to get in tune with the meaning of the weekend.

We were a part of a drum circle that lasted 30 continuous hours and that spanned the entire world, with events happening all over from Tokyo to the Ukraine to right here on this farm. We were drumming in memory of those lost from cancer, for those fighting the battle, for anyone ever affected by it's grasp. We were drumming to beat out cancer. And, as soon as the first drumbeat sounded, and the numbers on the ticker started rolling, the rhythm became a part of how we moved, a part of our energy, a part of our heartbeat. You could hear it from wherever you were on the grounds of the event. We fell asleep to it and woke up to it. Nothing like waking up and breathing in the drumbeat, sitting in circle with others finding their rhythm and beating with a purpose. The music was amazing, bands played all day both days. The vendors and activities were engaging, all carrying a purpose for good health, good music, and good times. But, it really was the energy and people we met that filled that drumbeat with life.

We met artisans that handmade their own drums and were sharing their message of open consciousness as they walked their path. We met healers of all sorts that carried a message of hope to all that were open to healing. We met families who were yearning for change and wanting to live healthier and more consciously. We enjoyed deep conversations with people regarding what inspires them, what drives them to live healthy, and the importance of eating organic, Non-GMO foods. We danced and drummed and circled with our own beats throughout the weekend, our home set admist the beauty of such amazing energy flowing from so many spirited souls. The drum will do that for you. The beat of a drum, like the beat of your own heartbeat, or that of your child's against your chest as you hold them, is calming, or energizing, or balancing or healing. The beat of the drum serves as a reminder for balance, and for that connection to our own inner rhythms with that of the natural rhythms of our earth, the bind that holds us all together. And, for 30 continuous hours, we drummed together, holding one heartbeat for Mama Earth, holding one heartbeat for all that have been impacted by cancer, and one heartbeat that binds us all together.

The energy was so contagious that I couldn't sit still the whole weekend. When I drummed, I moved, I danced, I floated. I drummed for my mother who has had cancer three times already and beat it, for my father who recently beat his cancer, for all of my relatives who have battled it, and for all of those who have lost the battle. I also drummed for anyone who was in need of strength, anyone fighting and needing support, for every connected soul that was yearning for change in our world so that cancer can be eradicated. I drummed for Mama Earth and so others could hear her drumming to try and balance our world. To eradicate toxins and genetically modified foods and chemicals and all of the imbalances that cause pain and disease in this world. For every drumbeat there was a reinvigoration of the heartbeat of the world. And, for those at DrumSTRONG, that rhythm was sounded and felt in every fiber of our beings.

To see photos from the event visit our Eco Womb Tour Gallery Page.