Good day, Steemians! 

I have been touring the Portuguese & Spanish countryside for weeks now in search of Eden 2.0 & Steem Castle, an expansion of @quinneaker's visionary @gardenofeden ecovillage where people can come together in freedom, sustainability, and responsibility to really THRIVE.

That's a whole series of posts in itself, but I mention it here because we have been so engaged in the potent vortex & magic of this lovely land that I haven't had time to reflect, digest, and acknowledge the profound experience of SteemFest 2.

I want to share the wonderful event so it may benefit others, inspire those who could not come, and help us understand each other better! 

photo by @timsaid

So what is there to say about SteemFest 2??

Gratitude & Community

First and foremost, thank you & congratulations to His Steemajesty @roelandp for another engaging, entertaining, and exciting event!!! You are extremely considerate & hospitable and a truly shining example of the sharing economy. Your attention to detail down to the finest point is inspired & inspiring, and I wish you continued success in all your endeavors.

And just as much thank you @ned & @dantheman for the vision and achievements of Steemit, as without you none of this exists and none of us would be in this here & now. Thanks as well to the dozens of people employed by Steemit, Inc to serve & protect our blockchain & favorite monetized social media platform/community.

 I thank @joseph & the witnesses who voted for me to win his contest that sponsored my trip to SteemFest. I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity, and you made it accessible for me. Thank you!

Thank you to @quinneaker & @everlove for supporting me in not only this journey but my entire life, really. Your example has made me a better person, and there aren't enough words to express my sincere appreciation for what you do for me and all the other people I see you help.

There were a whole shitload of Steemians who left solid impressions on me, both old friends and new. For me, this site is really about coming together and making personal connections, and SteemFest is the biggest celebration we have for that. Ideas and resources are exchanged from our hearts and minds, and received with real appreciation. It is a beautiful thing to be a part of, and I hope we continue this epic adventure together! 

The New Economy

We brought sustainable, honorable, handmade goods to trade for STEEM/SBD, and it was incredibly exciting to exchange tangible goods for crypto! This is real deep, y'all...

Contrast

For me, one of the most significant aspects of SteemFest is the contrast between it and life at the @gardenofeden. Yes, it's an incredible opportunity and I give very real and sincere thanks to be a part of it, but...it's different. It's cool though, because you need contrast for experience!

At home, we live in honor of life and nature. Almost no one does that - standards/values of modern society are different, and that's very obvious anywhere you go. I don't go that many places anymore, but I saw it all over SteemFest, and especially all over the airports and hotels we found ourselves in. For a teeny tiny example, @lukestokes asked me at the closing dinner how I felt about the (generous, fancy, and plentiful) food, and I told him honestly that most difficult for me was seeing how much waste there was. Untouched bread, undrunk wine, uneaten food...where does it all go? Most people don't even consider that, let alone do something about it.

Further, there are all sorts of social constructs/rules by which you are expected to behave, and that's not freedom to me. As revolutionary as our people are, the collective still holds a lot of judgment & fear. There's a lot of pretense. People appear to be scared of honest LOVE, believe it or not, as well as conflict & confrontation -although I was definitely impressed by a select few's ability to handle direct challenges. How are we going to grow, change, evolve, and get stronger without embracing this? If we know we're all in this together and that we stand in support & love, then what is there to fear? 

I observe that most people need something of a "detox" from the matrix when they start to wake up, accept, and devote themselves toward the better world that is totally possible, but it looks like a lot of people have yet to move out of that phase. That's fine because we are where we are, but I didn't hear anyone talking about these things. Let's acknowledge it and have a conversation!

Speaking of no one talking about things, is anyone going to say anything about the new logo? SteemFest sure wasn't talking about it...I notice it doesn't say beta anymore either - what's up?

Pancakes

Everyone loves them!

Inspiration

I continue my own journey with faith in projects to come (helloooooo HardFork Series!!!), wonderful things unfolding, beautiful connections made in Lisbon to blossom into beautiful relationships. I hope everyone left with hope, sparks, and new zest! 

Who were your favorite speakers? What most excited you about the experience? 

There's obviously plenty more that can be said about SteemFest 2, and I have literally thousands of photos to share, but we're leaving wifi to continue the adventure! In upcoming posts, I'm going to share food & selfies of SteemFest!! 

💛 Sara!