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I was in a taxi the other day, and the driver was talking about what mattered most to him. Friends. Family. Football. But then intriguingly he added the farmer-cum-founder of the Glastonbury festival, Michael Eavis - who most years invites thousands of revelers to his Somerset fields, along with some of the world鈥檚 biggest musical acts, artists and poets.

The cabbie told me solemnly that a picture of he and Michael takes pride of place on his wall. 鈥淏y going to Glastonbury for many years,鈥� he said, 鈥淢ichael has shaped the way I see the world more than anyone else.鈥� Powerful stuff.

OK, so Glastonbury may not be your particular cup of tea - and believe me, when I went, the toilets were primitive, and my tent was slashed and burgled - but I could sympathise. There is something about the best elements of such gatherings - and for Glastonbury, read creativity, vibrancy, inspiration, energy, diversity, a sense of community, and of belonging to something bigger - that somehow stirs the soul into life.

It鈥檚 similar, I suppose, to anything positively alternative that we experience outside of our business-as-usual routine. Whether it鈥檚 one of the many other festivals inspired by Glastonbury, or perhaps a spiritual retreat, or even just a really good holiday - the change of pace and rhythm and perspective can awaken something significant in us. A latent artistry, or creativity, for instance, a way of seeing the world - or just a basic sense of humanity, which is so easily lost in the daily grind.

The great temptation, of course, is to wish we could escape the grind more often; the challenge, however, is not to keep escaping, but to re-enter normal life inspired and renewed to live more creatively, dynamically, right where we are. To bring the best back with us...

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