VIVA LAS VITALITY
I went to Vegas for the 1st time 2-years ago.
I wouldn’t say I WASN’T excited to go, nor that I WAS.
Scott’s been to Vegas -what seems like- 75 million times. He’s been going since he was in his early 20s.
You see… Scott’s an excellent mathematician. He understands odds, stakes & ROI in a savant kind of way. He’s a proficient gambler. For this reason, among others, he has had a longstanding love affair with the Sin City.
I, however, am not a gambler.
I like to make investments with my money. The biggest gamble you’ll see me make is hanging in my closet, on a wall somewhere in my house, professionally, or in real estate. I’m not a fan of Math other than seeing the digits in my bank account ascending -vs- descending.
That said, when Scott enticed me with a trip to the City of Lights for the 1st time while dangling the carrot, I wouldn’t have to plan a thing, just show up. (YAS!) I wouldn’t say I was geeked to go. But, I was in for the new experience for the enjoyment of its nuance & to relish watching my hunny in his element.
As of today, I am blissfully on my 4th trip to the City that Never Sleeps with the agenda to do the opposite of its moniker. Relax.
My only plan is to BE. Indulge my palate. Get gussied up. Have amazing, as Scott calls it, ‘vacation sex’. Sleep in possibly the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in at the Wynn Encore. And see one of the funniest comedians around these days, Tom Segura.
If you don’t know Tom, you probably should know a few things:
Tom is genuinely interested in your offense. He intentionally takes audiences up to ‘the line’ of appropriateness. And, like a parent who threw you into the pool as a child, because they thought that would help you to learn to face fears, he tosses you into the self-reflective deep end.
Tom is prone to probe pretension. He doesn’t deny that he is contradictory. He emphasizes it. And, like a kid picking at a scab, even though you know it is likely to get agitated because your curiosity is insatiable, he ignores perturbance for the sake of illuminating the humor in facing humanity’s hypocrisy.
Netflix houses a slew of Tom’s stand-ups. My favorite is Disgraceful. If you don’t appreciate provoking comedy that reflects the hilarity of humanity, & you don’t appreciate humor designed to push the line, then as Tom says, don’t watch his “Ha-Ha Show.”
In addition to my excitement about the privilege to see Tom, I’m generally excited to be in Vegas because its energy radiates “GIVES US YOUR WEIRD. YOUR FLAMBOYANCE. YOUR EXTRA. ALL ARE WELCOME.”
Scott & I fit perfectly in that dynamic.
We weird. We sexy. We like that about ourselves & we like it when we find it with others!
Vegas is designed to titillate your senses. Make you think about the restrictions of everyday life. Challenge that perspective. And, open you up to the possibility of exploring uninhibited expression, but also learn how to embrace a healthy relationship with it.
Its vitality both activates & soothes my Soul. Something about its flagrant polarities makes me feel at home there & in my skin. I swear it’s built over a massive energy portal & its effervescence percolates all that you keep restricted & caged within to come out, come out, wherever you are.
Vegas’s ‘Here Kitty, Kitty’ delivers every time.
Its consistency is inconsistent at best. It’s never the same. EVER. It’s unapologetic about it. And, I FUCKING LOVE IT.
Its audacity welcomes me to be wholly as weird & extra as I truly am. Flaunt it. And, rub elbows with those unashamed to be seen doing it, too.
After dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant, you can find yourself suddenly in an exclusive prohibition-era Speakeasy with 50 strangers. All dressed to the 9’s. Swaggered in fabulous attire while headbanging to a cover band that includes unannounced Billboard & Grammy-winning Artists fucking-around doing covers of Metallica, Guns N’Roses, Bon Jovi or remixing acappella to Blackstreet, Biggie & Justin Timberlake.
No one is too cool.
No one is interested in anything other than a good time.
No one ever knows when something mind-blowing is about to happen.
Not everyone is going to get in & there’s something special about that limited experience you stumble upon & get to share with strangers who are all interested in the same thing you are. Being safe. Being open. And, having the best fucking time.
Not only is the mystique of Vegas’s private shows a part of its allure. They’re well-known for the awe of their residencies. Shows like Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘O’, Bruno Mars & Anderson Park’s ‘Silk Sonic’ & the Wynn’s highly sought-after, live music + burlesque dinner and show, ‘Delilah’, are all a feast for your senses.
Not to be excluded, the food in Vegas is its own orgasmic experience. I haven’t been to 1 restaurant, coffee shop, or hotel eatery that I didn’t like. Nor have I ever had a meal where I didn’t leave feeling like I just consumed palatable art. Of course, this is subject to the restaurants Scott & I like to dine at, like SW Steakhouse, Carbone, Sinatra, STK, Sushisamba, Barry’s… the list goes on.
Aside from all there is to do and eat in Vegas, if you’re intentional, there’s a lot of free shit, too.
The Wynn’s interactive flower display is a nature lover’s haven. I often get lost in its fragrance coupled with Wynn’s awesome playlist, which ranges from The Doobie Brothers, to Empire of the Sun, to Sade, Mayer Hawthorne & The Temptations. I could wander around the Wynn or hang out by the pool all day, tapping my toes, & singing. It is a VIBE.
Same with the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, which change seasonally & often during the holiday to match the themes of each. The scale of these floral structures is breathtaking. Not to mention, they’re accompanied by quotes & facts that support inspiration for the design intended to make you appreciate life as art, slow you down & converge with the beauty of nature. It is a happy space.
In addition to the Bellagio’s Conservatory is their famous fountain show, which you’ve likely seen in many movies like National Lampoons Vegas Vacation, Casino, & Oceans 11, 12, & all the numbers. The fountain runs pretty much all day, starting early afternoon & is synced to music that plays nightly. To some, it could come across as just another water fountain, but again, Vegas does everything BIG. The scale of this fountain is majestic. Its liquid fantasy pulls you in.
These are just a few of my favorite places for eye candy that are all FREE. Taking a stroll down the strip is a people-watchers buffet. If you do it in the morning, it’s an enjoyable stroll, but beware, it is a hike. Also, be on notice there are quite a few people who live on those sidewalks, & some of them are animated, so enjoy your stroll but mindfully be on alert.
Of course, there is always the FREE option of making it an intentional effort to visit any number of the hotels on the strip or in ‘old Vegas.’ Each has its own theme & which makes it a ‘you never know what you’re going to get’ fun experience. Because, again, Vegas is all about uninhibited scale, so checking out each hotel is like being exposed to different personalities. It’s intriguing just for that reason.
Vegas is the thinking person’s landscape. You should not go there if you do not know your boundaries. It is a space that asks you to mind your limits.
It will challenge your edges.
It will summon examination about your exercise of vitality.
It will show you what is possible & then ask if you’re responsibly living life as fully as it can be lived.
I think Vegas is labeled a canvas of corruption because, just like any place, it does have that history. It requires you to rally responsibly. Anything named holistically wrong or corrupt is a misnomer in my opinion. Essentially, the beauty, creativity, & liberty Vegas offers are often overshadowed by its challenges because despite those, it still unapologetically offers a good time.
There is a side of Vegas that is numinous. Its vitality both activates & soothes my Soul. Its vast & unashamed inclusivity is comforting & inviting. It consistently welcomes me to be as inconsistent as I need to be & AM.
All the Earth is a crystal, right? The energy in Vegas is unreal. It’s like a light show of excess built in the center of the most awe-inspiring, red rock, desert. The Mojave Desert.
The minute I step foot off the airplane & on land, it’s like someone gives me a tranquilizer. I’m calm AF. The incubator that the desert creates is unreal, & immediately puts my nervous system into a state of ‘serenity now.’
Of course, Marijuana is legal in Vegas, so that helps, too.
Vegas takes all kinds. It permeates fun. Yet, it has a dark side just like the rest of us, but it doesn’t hide it. It’s not ashamed to accept itself for what it is. It puts it out there for all to see & says, have a good time. Be yourself. Pay attention. Choose wisely.
I resonate with that darkness. I respect it. I think too often we bypass what we believe to be unpalatable within us ALL & that’s what gets us into trouble.
Vegas not only highlights & welcomes us to blatantly acknowledge where we dim our bigness. It invites us to live unashamed in it. Yet, it also cautions us to practice discretion with it AND its opposition.
Those bright lights, & the surrounding deep, dark desert reflect the shame we hold about being whole. It reveals where we deny not only our positive but difficult aspects. It divulges that there is a shadow side to us that we hide but need to be mindful of, know its limit, & effectuate responsible boundaries with, too.
I’m grateful to have another blessed opportunity to visit Vegas for all these reasons. I’m even more grateful to share how much I love it with you.
Nothing shocked me more about Vegas than discovering how much serenity & perspective it repeatedly brings me. What a gift.
I’m also truly grateful for the trip because the past few years have been a long journey through individuation. Through finding my true light & also respect for my darkness. My hunny has been there with me, trekking forward every step of the way.
The timing of this trip is not only good for us. It’s the perfect space to reorient to the new light I’ve found these past few years. It’s precisely what my spirit needs to reground, center, affirm, & reconnect to my own Vegas-like, Shannon-brand, of bold exuberance.
Again, I say, what a gift.
If you’ve never been to Vegas, hopefully, I’ve given a perspective that expands beyond the sometimes negative one-sided image of debauchery it’s often notorious for.
Hopefully, this blog will inspire you to not only explore if Vegas is a future destination for you but also encourage you to explore places, spaces & relationships that seem mismatched, that could potentially reveal a newfound serenity spot in you, too.
Hopefully, in Vegas-like fashion, you’ll allow yourself to eclipse the boundaries of what you think you should be or what you believe you’re chained to being known for.
Hopefully, in the spirit of Vegas mystique, you embrace the audacity to know all parts of Self & unabashedly flaunt your brand of bold exuberance.
Be good to yourself. 💋
With Blessings,
