Burning Man 2015

Me with Daniel, napping.

This year had its ups and downs.  I wish I'd been able to camp with more close friends, and taking care of a 2-year-old was definitely a learning experience.  There was one particularly horrible day that involved multiple rounds of vomit, a very bad diaper, and a lost shoe.  There were also days and days of dust storms, some of them whiteout conditions.  One lasted from noon until 10 pm that night (I went to bed early).

Did I have any fun?  Yes, I did.  I spent time with friends I haven't seen in nearly ten years.  I got to hang out with my brother-in-law for a day.  I saw some spectacular art.

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But . . . it's different now.  The event is now up to 70,000 people, which is double what it was the last time I went in 2005.  This year, it was the first time out there for 40% of the population.  There is a ton of money invested in the large-scale art projects, which I think takes away from some of the DIY aspect, but I suppose it also reinforces community and working together, so there's that.

Burning Man was really important part of my life--not only socially, but it heavily influenced my decision to go into massage and who I've become as an adult.  However, I've gotten a little jaded, I think.  The art that once left me awestruck has become more mundane to my eyes. "How did they DO that?!?" is now "Hnh. How'd they do that? Oh yeah, I see how." 

For the newbies, though?  It's still blowing their minds, which is the important part.  My favorite takeaway this year is a sermon by an Episcopalian priest about his experience out there, a 53-year-old guy who went with his 22-year-old "I'm more of a Buddhist" daughter. It is funny, touching, and poignant, and drives home how he has integrated his experience into the default world.

The part that gave me chills is at about the 13-minute mark, when he talks about the gift that he brought:  blessings. In turn, he anointed the receiver's eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet--even going to far as to kiss them--before placing his hand over the receiver's heart as he finished. From there, he would say:

The world now is too dangerous and too beautiful for anything but love.
. . .
I anoint your eyes so that you see God in everyone.
I anoint your ears so you hear the cry of the poor.
I anoint your lips so that you speak nothing but the truth in love.
I anoint your hands so that everything you give and everything you receive
is a sacrament.
I anoint your feet so that you can run to those who need you.
And may your heart be so opened, so set on fire, that your love,
YOUR LOVE, changes everything.

What a beautiful message to send out into the world.

So I guess I'm now an AfterBurner.  For the amount of money, time, and other resources needed to make me comfortable out there, I could go to Ireland for two weeks.  Or Italy.  Or any number of other places in the world, and open my eyes in new and different ways.

I got what I needed from Burning Man, and it's up to me to carry forward the change it has brought me in my life.