Sue DeNym said:
Yes, please! I'd love to read it. I've only been to one U2 concert (Joshua Tree), but I definitely felt the Spirit there, and I've heard a lot of people talk about similar experiences.
This is a journal entry I wrote about a month ago:
My New Tattoo Is Itchy
And it's driving me crazy right now, as I am sitting here trying to ignore it. I'm hoping to get a pic uploaded of it soon. I got it a week ago today. It's a version of the Elevaton suitcase on my right ankle. Yes, I got a symbol from last tour tattooed on myself now. To be honest, I felt it was the best time to do it. With all the excitement surrounding the Vertigo Tour getting this tattoo has really reminded me of why U2 means as much to me as they do and all I have to look forward to this time around.
I can remember the one and only one Elevation concert I got to go to. Section 104. Row H. Seat 1. At that point in time, I was 21 and this was my first U2 concert despite having been a fan for as long as I could remember. I can remember how excited I was. This was going to be my first U2 concert....I would never have another first U2 concert experience again! That one concert changed my life in so many ways.
People may look at me strangely when I tell them that U2 has changed my life. At times I know it might sound odd...but so many things changed for me after that concert.
This concert was a little over a month after 9/11. It was a very dark time. This concert was actually a chance to smile again and be caught up in something bigger than yourself.
I can still remember very vividly how Bono cradled an American flag, without pretense, and passionatley kissed it.
I can remember also at that concert how he ran off the stage to climb into the rafters to reach a 9 year old girl in the 200 section, singing to her while hanging off the rail with one arm. He asked her name, pointing the microphone towards her face, and the young girl girl shouted
"I love you!" in her excitement. As the crowd cheered, Bono, still hanging off the balcony said,
"I wanna say a prayer. A prayer that these times we're living in will pass quickly and America and Europe will be safe. And that the rest of the world doesn't have to live on less than a dollar a day." It was then Bono began chanting "40"...singing
"How long to sing this song". Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.
I also changed my mind about the existence of God at that concert. For the longest time I wanted to believe in God. I could accept the idea of God but it was religiousity, or man-made images of God, that I couldn't swallow. I had seen to many bad things done in God's name. I couldn't seem to find a balance between the two so I just threw my hands up.
Seeing the bullfight of Until The End Of The World acted out on stage suddenly struck me. I could see the own dichotomy raging in my heart--the need to choose between darkness and light. Everyone always tends to villanize Judas, when you think about it how different was he from Peter, a man who denied Jesus three times and warmed his hands over the fire beside the Roman soldiers? There was one difference: Peter acknowledged his pride. It was then I realized that I had been arrogant in telling God I didn't need Him.
Bono paraphrased Psalm 116 at the intro to Streets.
"What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me?" Tears sprang to my eyes at seeing this man, who I had always seen as larger than life, being humble and raising his hands in supplication.
"I'll complete what I promised God I'd do, and I'll do it together with his people" It was then the house lights went on and I could see the thousands of fans around me. I was seeing them all in a new way, almost as family...and in that moment I felt we all were. I felt as though my heart had exploded with light. The sense of joy that suddenly washed over me was so powerful I felt as though I would be consumed if it continued.
Finally during the finale of "Walk On" everything just came to a sense of convergence. I can't tell you how many times I had heard this song before that night but it was only then that it's true meaning smacked me in the face and left a permament welt.
"You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been," Bono sang, his eyes closed and face tilted upward. "
A place that has to be believed to be seen." For the first time, I believed.
I also gained another kind of faith that night. Faith in myself. I felt I finally had the faith to believe there was things I could change in my life, the most dramatic being leaving a bad relationship.
I realized it was not enough to be morally convicted about things going on in the world, that you had to act upon those convictions. I began to actively care about philanthropic endeavors such as the AIDS crisis in Africa. I have even changed my major because of that concert...from English to International Relations & Diplomacy.
So, my tattoo...the Elevation suitcase...a week ago today. I am sitting here looking at it right now. I am reminded of how much I have "walked on" since the last concert, I am reminded of all my heartaches I have "left behind", and I am confident and feel strenghtened about my beautiful days ahead. I can see where I have come from and I can see where I am going by looking at my ankle....
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