Burning Man – Reflections
So it’s now been a few weeks since I got back from my second Burning Man festival.
My mind has finally caught back up with reality, and I completely miss being there.
Not because of the crazy parties, not for looking up from the DJ booth to see a sea of smiling, dancing, happy people, not for the freedom of being out of touch with the rest of the world, neither because of waking up to music, sun, and crazy people expressing themselves everywhere the moment you step out of your RV, but simply because of the way people interact with each other and treat each other.
Before my first Burning Man people would tell me it was a life changing event, something I would politely shrug off as hippy talk, thinking it’s just a festival, but as soon as I experienced it I was overwhelmed with emotions, thoughts and feelings I would struggle to put into words even now.
It really is life changing because it reminds you what life is all about, expressing your inner self without fear of persecution, interacting with strangers from all over the world who treat you as a friend, as an equal, sharing, giving, and receiving, and letting your guard and defenses down.
Ignorant glances away are replaced by welcomes, handshakes replaced by hugs, frowns replaced by smiles, and stresses replaced with positive and creative energy.
Even though I had anxiously waited to return all year, I didn’t expect the overwhelming warm feeling of being ‘home’ as soon as I stepped foot onto the dirt and filled my lungs with playa dust this year. At that moment i fully understood the words of the people at the gate when they said ‘welcome home’.
Coming back from a life less ordinary for a week to what we call home is a somewhat depressing experience, and at that point you start to see what’s wrong with the world. People too wrapped up in their own stresses and woes to care about others, ignorance and selfishness ruling the day, people battling and arguing over things that really shouldn’t matter, and people being rude, bitter and defensive.
And then you slowly get bogged down in the stresses and tolls of reality, and you slowly forget the new energy and intentions you returned with, until you look at photos from the week, and replay memories in your mind, and you realise that most people haven’t seen the beautiful side of humanity that you experienced for the week, and it helps you tolerate the shit from the ignorant, selfish ones…..for a while.
We all need to change the way we interact with each other in this world. It doesn’t have to be this way, it’s only our blindness and apathy that stops us from making it a better world to live in.
Every action has a reaction.
