"Annie, wake up"
I rolled over, rubbing my eyes, pushing a thick curtain of hair out of my face. My best friend, Kayla, was rubbing my shoulder. She stood up, and pulled on her hoodie.
"Let's go watch the sunrise." she said. I was tired as hell. I mumbled some unintelligable symbols and attempted to lift my head.
"Here." she said, handing me a thermos full of hot coffee.

I sat up, gulping down the deliciously bitter warmth. Then I got dressed while she packed a bowl of reefer, and we left our tent and walked down to a clearing between a bunch of trees. Stretching out before us was land filled with tents and campground interspersed with vibrant green trees and farther out beyond that was an empty stage and grassy area that would later be packed full of people. As the sun began to rise it all glimmered like Christmas morning.
"Wow" I said, putting my arm around Kayla.
"Yea" she breathed. She handed me the bowl.
"spark it"
I inhaled the sweet taste that soothingly stung my throat like ginger root.
"God, this is good stuff. Who'd you buy it from"
"Schwaggy Jeff." she said.
"Heh. Isn't he trying to get in your pants?" I said as she sucked on the pipe.
"Yea. And everyone else's. He gave me a sweet deal though." she exhaled.
"I wonder why..." I said sarcastically.
"Hey guys. What are you up to?" our friend Rainbow said, coming up behind us. Her and her boyfriend's tent was next to ours.
"Just watching the sunrise." Kayla said.
"Can I throw down on that bowl with you?" she asked, rummaging through her hemp bag for her stash.
"Of course"
The 3 of us got high as hell. The sun got higher and we all lay around in the grass talking about stupid shit and laughing, talking about how excited we were to see our favorite band that was playing later that day. Rainbow's boyfriend, Baker, cooked us eggs and toast on a skillet over the fire, and we had more coffee. And then we were all thoroughly awake and so stoned we couldn't stop smiling up at the sunshine.
"It's about that time." Kayla said, looking at her watch. The 4 of us all frolicked down the hill towards the grassy area where people were beginning to gather.
"YAY!" I yelped, twirling around so my skirt billowed out around me.

"Ohmygod, look you guys." Rainbow said, pointing at a group of people gathered to the side of the crowd. They were holding up huge signs that said things like:

"SATAN SAYS:
Christians are all wrong.
There is no God.
Jesus Christ is a myth.
All religion is the same.
There are no standards.
There is no judgement day.
There is no hell.
Abortion is ok.
Sodomy is normal.
God loves everybody.
Sin all you can.
There is no tomorrow.
Live only for today.
Do not fear."

"Ew" Kayla said.
I walked up to the guy holding the aforementioned sign. "Interesting sign you got there. The last line is of course the most important, suggesting you hope to motivate people towards a fear based religion." In response, he began his programmed speech about hell and how you should fear it because it's real.
I interrupted him and said "See, that's sad because obviously you have been brainwashed, probably since you were little, to believe in hell. But it makes no sense. Nothing is permanant. Not happiness or pain."

I looked around at their faces. Some of them looked sinister and proud but slightly intimidated. Others looked slightly humble, maybe even ashamed. Kayla, Rainbow, and Baker were standing beside me by that point. Kayla began to read one of their signs out loud in an ironic tone of voice:

"GOD SAYS:
Christ is the only way.
All other religion is false.
We should love only him.
Only his standards rule and we are supposed to judge.
He does hate some people.
Abortion is murder.
Homosexual sex is evil.
Sex is for married people.
Drunks and dopers are out.
Judgement day is certain.
So we should fight sin and fear him because:
THERE IS A HELL!"

Baker laughed. "Drugs and dopers are out, huh? I guess that means me. But I'm out where? Maybe they mean far out..."

"Rainbow, can I bum a smoke?" I asked. "Sure" she said, holding out her pack.
I lit the ciggarette and walked up to the man holding the sign. He was fairly elderly, and looked sad. I blew a puff of smoke in his face. He stared at me.
"Hoping that god will love you more if you spread his hate?" I asked.
"YOU GUYS SICKEN ME!" Rainbow said. I waved my hand at her as if to say be nice.
Then I looked at him again.

"Are you a happy person?" I said, blowing another puff of smoke in his direction while leaning closer and staring deeply into his eyes. He looked down.
"You don't have to be a perfect martyr all the time. People are meant to make mistakes, we learn from them. How can you know anything about life if you don't experience what it has to offer? How can you base your entire life on some book that's been translated again and again a million times since it was written by a bunch of random people many centuries ago who claimed to know god but lived in a completely different world from us and made plenty of mistakes? How can you claim to know god yet reject everything in the world that he has given you, the world through which he expresses himself?"

"I'm not rejecting God's world, I'm rejecting Satan's world!" the man stammered.
"Oh and that's another thing, how can Satan be the one that says God loves everyone? According to the bible, God is the one who says he loves everyone! Haven't you even read that thing? or do you just like to discard the parts about love? The way I see it, god and satan are just two sides of the same coin, the absolute force that is present in everything."

"That's a doper for you. Crazy abstract meaningless talk is all it is. They can't be reasoned with." one of the other christians chimed in. But the old man looked like he had tears in his eyes.

"God doesn't have a bunch of standards you have to follow in order for him to love you!" I said, on the verge of yelling, because I felt what I was saying was important. "He doesn't care who you are, be yourself and he'll still love you. As long as you love him, that's what the bible says isn't it? And that means loving his creation too, and all the people he created. If there is a satan, I'm sure he wants you to spread this message of hate that gives christians a bad name. But real christianity is about love, so ALL OF YOU ARE JUST A BUNCH OF FAKES"
"Go away." he said.
"Why don't you go away? You all came here with your signs to bother and offend us, maybe hoping that we'll be easily manipulated by fear into joining your legions." Rainbow said.

"I'm saying all this stoner bullshit you don't wanna hear for your sake, not mine. Because you look like an unhappy person. And how can you not be when you're controlled by fear, and no true spirituality can ever come from that. Believe in god because you want to, because it brings you joy, because you love him. Not out of fear of punishment." I added, then I turned around.
"Let's go, they're a lost cause." I said. The four of us walked away.

The concert was amazing. The first band to play was The Buddhahood. They played delightfully eclectic, upbeat music. It had an island feel to it, along with some reggae and funk mixed in. They had steel drums, a saxaphone, a didgeridoo, and lots of other random instruments. It was superb. It was the perfect music for dancing around barefoot with the sun making us feel a thick layer of sweat illuminating our bodies.
Then Phish played and we held hands and twirled and swayed and jumped up and down. I relished every sensation. The soft grass against my bare feet, the way my skin tingled with the warmth from the sun, the bittersweet taste of wine swigged from Rainbow's bottle, the sweet sound of music reverberating over the crowd, the joyful people crowded in all around me, all of us screaming and making joyful noises unto the absolute that is present in everything, especially beauty and love. I felt love for everyone.

Then it was evening, and there was a bonfire, and a drum circle, and everyone danced around the fire. Then another band played, and they played covers of some of the greatest classic rock songs; while we cooked hotdogs and smores around the fire. "God I love life." I said, and my friends all nodded in agreement. Kayla leaned her head on my shoulder "Life is so beautiful, even pain is beautiful, in a way. It's so poetic, and it helps to make sense out of everything somehow, in an indescribable way"
"I just wish more people understood." I sighed, solemnly, then smiled and stared into the fire, where I could see figures dancing, expressing themselves through the flames, and sending out love to us.