Messages of Love
Last weekend I was able to attend the One World Water Lantern Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When I originally saw the information on my social media feed, I was immediately attracted to the event. It was described as a celebration of peace, hope, love and happiness. A time to come together, love one another and heal ourselves. The lanterns carry the dreams, life reflections, wishes, hopes, happiness and healing of those individuals casting them into the universe.
I hadn’t heard of anyone attending this event before, and didn’t really know what to expect. With my daughter recently moving to Milwaukee, I thought based on the map she might be close to the park hosting the festival. As luck would have it, she was a ten-minute walk to the beautiful Veteran’s Park. I was coming with a friend from another direction, but we made plans to meet.
The temperature was cool, and the air felt misty, so my friend and I prepared for rain. The lantern launch was dependent on the weather, and I was surprised to see how many people showed up for the event; despite the mist and fog. We checked in, gathered our supplies that consisted of a lantern kit, LED candle, marker, and flashlight. There were activities, live music, food trucks and outdoor lawn games.
Children and adults of all ages filled the lawn. People didn’t seem to mind the misty air, and at times light rain. We stationed ourselves under a tree to escape most of the wetness. From our vantage point we could enjoy the music and hear the announcements of the event. We stood in long food truck lines, but it had been my first experience with food trucks, so it was sorta cool.
After getting settled again it was time to decorate our lanterns. Each kit consisted of a wooden base that would house the LED candle, four posts and a rice paper lantern that would slide over the four posts. People all around were busy decorating the rice paper lanterns with the provided marker. It was a joy to watch people ponder and think what to include on their lantern; including me.
Since the following day was my birthday, my daughter wrote a happy birthday note on one side of her lantern and the other three sides, her and her friend played games…..LOL. As I watched my friend decide what to put on the lantern, I could see she was emotional. I too, felt deep emotion when writing messages of love to my Dad, who recently passed away. My three other sides were around family, inspiration and my personal journey.
As I looked around I could see love, loss and hope reflected on lanterns as people displayed their masterpieces. When it was launch time, the crowd made their way to the lagoon and one by one cast their heart out into the water. The lanterns seemed drawn to one another as they floated together along the grassy edge. People used sticks to push the lanterns out into the current. As the night fell, the lanterns twinkled on the dark water and was incredible to witness. The evening was remarkable watching people come together to cast messages of love into the universe.
xoxox…..Sheryl