How old were you in 1969?
Or was that before your time?
I was barely a teen when Woodstock took place 50 years ago this weekend. I was blissfully innocent at that time.
Watching a PBS documentary today astounded me as to what happened that weekend and its significance.
It is called “WOODSTOCK Three Days that Defined a Generation.” It did. Woodstock has been called a defining event of the ‘60’s. Having my eyes opened to what happened during that weekend at Woodstock reminds me that this generation had a vision of peace and love, and seeing what happened at Woodstock, I realized that we can reclaim it.
The organizers of Woodstock had to change their venue, so they wound up having to do 3 months’ worth of work in one month. Obviously, some things did not get done. They decided to prioritize building the stage and forget about fencing in the place so they could check tickets and charge admission. Even though they had pre-sold many tickets, $18 for the three days, from then on out the concert was free for the audience, and the promoters took the loss.
Woodstock organizers based their plans on Monterrey festivals which brought in around 28,000 people. People started to arrive early and roads were clogged with cars parked on the side because they could not get any closer. People got out and made the pilgrimage with sleeping bags, coolers, or what little else they brought. That meant that cars carrying the performers or any emergency services could not get in. Soon helicopters were ferrying in the performers and whatever else was needed.
The first day estimates were about 350,000 people. It increased to an estimated “half a million” by the third day. Yasgur’s 600 acre farm was wall to wall people facing the stage surrounded by constantly moving lanes of people going to and fro.
At the opening on Friday afternoon, a festival official announced, “There are a hell of a lot of us here. If we are going to make it, you had better remember that the guy next to you is your brother.” And they did, though it all could have been a disaster. That fact gives me chills.
Following the motto of Woodstock “3 days of peace & music,” organizers did not want a police presence. They chose to ask Wavy Gravy and his Hog Farm collective for security. Wavy Gravy and his people provided a non-intrusive “Please Force” which asked people to please not do that, but do this instead. It worked.
The major food vendors pulled out when the Woodstock venue changed. The one remaining was able to provide hot dogs and hamburgers for about a day, not even collecting money for the food. Then there were a lot of hungry people.
Fortunately, the Hog Farm Collective was prepared. They had kitchens set up and knew how to cook for lots of people. The townspeople of Bethel, New York heard that the kids there were hungry, and donated a lot of food, ferried in by helicopter. Everyone got fed.
Drugs were ubiquitous at the Woodstock festival. A cloud of marijuana settled in front of the stage, but it was the MJ of the 60’s, not the strong hybrid stuff of today. LSD was the other favorite recreational drug, and performers as well as the audience were tripping.
Those who were having bad trips were guided to special tents in the Hog Farm encampment where people held their hands, told them everything would be alright, and rode out the trip with them. When they were “with it” again, they were informed that the poor soul coming in the tent was him three hours ago, and instructed him to do what was done for him for the new one on a bad trip.
I love how people gravitated to helping each other out. Giving rides to the venue. Passing food around to share. Sheltering under plastic during the downpour of rain. Seeing the video footage allowed me to absorb the feeling of it. People truly prioritized peace and fellowship. And, of course, it was a festival, a party.
This generation of Viet Nam, Woodstock and the Summer of Love is still around. We may be retirement age, but that does not mean we are not contributing. Whatever our lives have been up to this point, we did because we felt it was our best option at the time.
I believe that it is our option to carry the peace & love of Woodstock ahead fifty years to now. Most of us know what it is like to express ourselves by how we dress, whether it was in hippie clothes or simply something personalized. Back then, most of the food we ate was still “natural.” We know how to care for each other. Our idealism has matured over fifty years and we have experience in the world.
We can reconnect with that matured idealism and remember our nature as peaceful and loving. This generation pulled off a weekend of half a million people together in love and celebration, no disasters. We responded with resilience. We were creative. We had fun.
Let’s embody that now and bring this spirit with us wherever we are, wherever we go. We can be hippies at heart, no matter how we look on the outside. We can inject this in our business dealings as well as our daily life. We can greet each other as brothers and sisters, knowing there is peace and love in your heart as well.
I am passionate about healing whatever is keeping us from feeling peace and love. This is through mindset and meditation as well as natural medicine. I have a fondness for this generation of Woodstock, partly because I am part of it. The other part is that I can so clearly see our idealism and when matured, how powerfully it can change the world even more.
If you are of the Woodstock generation, or someone who resonates with it, and need help with being able to physically or mentally do what you love to do, please contact me. I especially am fond of helping business people continue to work their world-changing business when fatigue, brain fog, or a diagnosis is getting in the way.
Please click here to set up an chat with me to find out how you can continue to change the world.
What are your memories or fantasies about Woodstock 1969?
