how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?

Yesterday I was at the Mile High Music Festival watching Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi be their typical amazing selves when I noticed some people (a girl and a guy) dancing to my left. They really struck me... I can't describe it other than to say they were some of the happiest people I'd ever seen. The expressions on their faces in turn made me so happy I wanted to go up and hug them. Not a single care in the world between them... Naturally, we were at a music festival, so you're probably thinking they were just completely stoned or hammered drunk, and not likely to make it home safely. If you guessed the former, you would be partially correct. They were dancing barefoot, guy shirtless with thick dreadlocks halfway down his back, girl in hippie skirt and simple fabric top, hemp necklaces, using a hula-hoop, etc. But that's not the point. You could see in their faces a simple joy. And they weren't weekend hippies like most of the people there (you know, the ones obviously wearing their token tie-dyed shirt or patchouli dress, the one that mom doesn't know about). This was the real thing. To make this couple even more amazing was the fact that both of them could have been models of some kind. The girl was drop dead gorgeous (no make-up, no need for that) and the dude would probably have made more than his fair share of billboards. But by the looks of them, you would know that they gave that stuff up long ago. I felt like there was something to learn from them. They had figured out how to let go and be content. Maybe they were from around Denver, but I didn't get that impression. It made me wonder what it would take for me to completely let go and just take off. To wander but not be lost. To learn to let the wind carry me wherever. How different would the US be if people didn't have such permanent things; jobs, houses, 401(k)'s, routines...? People sometimes say that they had plans to do X or become Y but then life got in the way. I think that's crap; worry and fear got in the way. It made me wonder what it would be like to travel until I ran out of money, then get a job there to fund the next adventure, repeat. There are a lot of different professions I think it would be interesting to try out for a few months and then move on. I guess that's not how it works these days. But maybe it should in some places. It made me think about some of my happier moments. In general (and maybe it was just the atmosphere my mind was wandering in but...) some of the funnest times of my life have been at music festivals or concerts. It's a toss-up right now, but the anticipation for a show is about the same as the anticipation for a perfect powder day on skis. If Phish books a summer tour next year, I'm going to try my hardest to be there for as many shows as possible. On the surface it might sound selfish or hedonistic to drop out of society or something like that, but it just seems like the right thing to do. There's a time and a place for things, and maybe next summer will be that for a road trip for me.