This year I decided to give up on saying that each Burn is even better than the last. Each Burn is perfect, exactly what it needs to be.
Burning Man isn’t for everybody and I’m sure that every person that does find religion there, finds it in their own way. I’ve never really thought about what Burning Man means to me until this year. I met a girl named Justine (from Quebec) who asked me why I go to Burning Man. It’s one of those questions that seems like it would have an obvious answer but makes you stop and think on closer inspection (kind of like “who are you?”).
I go to Burning Man to share my energy. To share the beauty inside. At Burning Man I am reminded how beautiful each person around me is. I find it within myself to love every person I interact with. I carry that with me after I leave the desert and it enables me to find positivity in even the most negative situations. It enables me to see the best in every person I meet.
The desert takes away all distractions. No cell phones, no computers, no money, no business. Just you and 50,000 other people in a completely unrestrained creative environment. It lets you connect with people in a way that can be very difficult in the always on hyper connected real world. In fact, there’s a difference between “getting to” Burning Man and “arriving at” Burning Man. You get there whenever your RV lands. You arrive, usually a few days later, when you finally let go of the outside world and truly tune into the environment around you.
Every person contributes in their own way. Some give their energy, others create some of the most amazing art on earth. This year the quality of the art was particularly high. There was more art than I remember in previous years and each piece was exceptionally good. Lots of great fire sculpture too.
What a great burn. Thank you.