burning my eyes open

A few of you asked for more Burning Man stories and I will happily oblige because I know there are people who haven't had great experiences at the Man but mine were filled with magic. It's not an easy week, the heat is unbearable and you are completely responsible for your own resources and unless you are rich and go in an RV there is little escape. The days are spent recuperating under makeshift shade structures, but as the night falls the action kicks in.

We had found a campsite across from the Soylent Baby Camp. They had a conveyor belt where you'd place a can of food and it would go through some sort of motions and spit a baby out on the other end. The fact that there was a naked old man with a long beard and a bottle of scotch cranking them out sealed the deal and the baby was a gift. Baby in hand I began the long walk to the center of town where the most spectacular displays are featured. I'd been imbibing in the spirits so things were a bit vivid to begin with and as I walked through town I ran into Jesus and the Devil hand in hand. The Devil gave me a long hug and absolved me of my sins while Jesus smiled and nodded. The next stop was a walk down a trippy subliminal memory lane, and then we paused at a downtempo lounge where exotic women were dancing to their own groove. I caught a few fire handlers and encountered some strange, strange electrical squids. I was hugged countless times and by the time I was done my day glo body paint must have been shared with a hundred new found stranger friends.

It's no exaggeration that you are completely overwhelmed with creativity every single square foot of your journey. And everyone is welcoming. I was offered food and drink and gifts everywhere I went and by the time it's over you stumble back to your camp and fall asleep under the wide Nevada sky. And the next night you head off in a different direction and it's a whole other explosion of sensory delights. It's dehydrating and unbelievable and magical and freeing and out of this world because every single thing is okay as long as it's not hurtful to anyone else.

And I really think we are onto something with a Burning Bloggers Camp. We can do it, but it'll require commitment and organization. We can do communal everything and we can bring kids or not bring kids and it will all work out just fine. It might not be for everyone, but I think with a little letting go and a sense of adventure it would rock your world and change the way you want to live in it.

As we were leaving the festival we were one of a thousand dusty cars on caravan through the desert. The wind can bring serious dust storms and everyone and everything is covered in fine white dust. As we edged our way out we came upon a man with a sign that said he needed $100 to get home. We rolled down our window and went to hand him money and he replied that it was ok, he raised what he needed in 10 minutes and didn't need it. And that alone summed it all up because he wasn't taking more than he needed and in a few moments everyone who passed by lended a hand.

Three days after I returned from Burning Man that year 9/11 happened and the world turned on it's head. It was impossible to reconcile where I'd just been from the horror that was unfolding and the juxtaposition of the two is something that still confounds me to this day. That the potential for love and light and utopia exists alongside the capacity for terrible horrors and yet each day we soldier on and do what we can to move forward in this great big world of ours. And how a little burn could go a long way for all of us and might even change the world.

I've got a new review up over at my other spot so check it out before you go because I made a book. Or personalized a book. But still, it rocks.