I recently went on a vacation to Black Rock City for the
Burning Man Festival in Nevada. A place that many people think they know. An
event that is unknown to many, spoken about by some, experienced by those who
need it without knowing that they needed it and revisited by those who found a
new home and are anxious to go back for their reunion.
I went to a dried up desert with no said expectations,
although with many expectations. I wanted to be wowed, blown away, and
inspired. What I took away was so much more than I ever expected. Before I
went, I was watching videos, looking at photos and reading blogs, then I
thought I was over saturating myself with what has happened in the past, and I
didn't want to be let down, so I stopped researching and left it to the Universe.
What I discovered was complete acceptance of everyone and
everything. Every burner has their very own experience and adventures, and here
is a glimpse at mine. Adventures make up your day and night. You don’t say
“let’s go to the Temple”, you don’t say “let’s go get snow cones” and you don’t
say “where are we going, and what are we doing” rather you say “let’s go on an
adventure”. You may think you know, but at each turn and every camp, there is a
new adventure. In Black Rock City, you don’t second-guess your actions, you
just DO. Something in you wanted to stop and park your bike, walk up to the
seesaw and take it for a ride. Something in you said to go to the Temple at
that exact moment. Something in you decided to make a move that was merely the
next step in your adventure. Immediacy is precious and important at Burning
Man. I thought I “lived in the now” prior to going to Burning Man, but it
really presented to me that I didn’t, and I thank this event for shining light
on that for me.
I had a spiritual journey. I had an emotional journey. I had
a dance journey. I had a music journey. I had a fulfilling journey. The way of
living is beautiful in Black Rock City. One day I went on an adventure on my
own. I had a Bloody Mary and a piece of bacon next door, and then I got on my
bike and went to The Playa, the main playground/museum/dance floor of the city.
I went to a small structure that was built like a Mayan Temple. I went to rest.
A girl walked up to the top and sat in the middle and played a song on her
ukulele. It was perfectly beautiful. I then went to a tall structure of the
woman statue that is probably one of the most photographed pieces of art from
Burning Man. There was a sweet lady who spoke very little English taking
pictures with her camera. I had a view of the woman holding the light, so I
asked her if I might take a picture with her camera. Without hesitation, she
smiled, said yes and handed me her camera. I took two photos of what I saw, in
an attempt to share with her the beauty I witnessed. I told her to wait until
later to look, and I hugged her and rode off to the main Temple. I parked my
bike and entered the main Temple, a place to mourn, pray and celebrate life and
death. This is the quietest place in the city. Built without a single nail, the
entire temple is covered in prayers, articles and personal belongings that
would eventually be burned at the end of the week. The center has a of the
temple has massive hematite stones, known for absorbing energy, stacked on each
other. I wrote some prayers and my favorite quote on the temple walls,
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end”. Once
I put the period at the end of my quote, I started uncontrollably crying. The
energy in the temple is so incredible, that my body felt empathy, compassion,
sadness and happiness all at once. I walked to the center and I saw Frenchy
sitting on the ground, we locked eyes and he smiled and waved me over. Frenchy
was part of my camp, so we knew one another. I sat with him in silence and we
started crying together. Crying for nothing and everything. A woman behind me
placed her hand on my shoulder and I melted. I turned and she just smiled.
About 15 minutes went by and we decided to leave. We exited and had someone
take a photo of us in front of the Temple.
We were set to go our separate ways, and Frenchy said, “I’m going on an adventure, would you like to join”, and without hesitation, I said “yes, yes I would”. Went rode off to The French Quarter. I wanted to send a postcard to a fellow camper at the post office near the French Quarter known as BRC3PO, which is Black Rock City at the 3pm Post Office.
While I went to send the card, Frenchy waited in line at Café Du’Monde. While he was in line, he met two girls who so happened to know his co-worker, so we asked them to join us for coffee in the café. Let me make note, that we do not pay for anything in the city, there is no currency except for ice and coffee in the center camp. This was not “center camp”, this was what felt like New Orleans. After coffee, we went and had cereal at the cereal bar across the street. The Cereal bartender specialized in making cereal cocktails, which is mixing various types of cereal in a martini shaker and pouring them into a bowl, adding soy milk for us to enjoy. I attempted to bring a bowl of cereal to the girl that helped me send the postcard, but she kindly refused. We went across the street again and I had a snow cone. We crossed the street again and had Mojitos. While we were waiting for the mojito, a man in his 50’s, with a cowboy hat and completely nude had a conversation with Frenchy and I that was delightful. While in line I met people from Morocco, Brazil, London, Texas and New Mexico. We finished our mojitos and continued on our adventure out of The French Quarter. A girl was announcing on the street that they were serving margaritas, so we quickly pulled over. I sat on a merry-go-round while Frenhcy went to get our margaritas. Someone spun the structure so when Frenchy arrived, I was going round and round, seeing him every 3 seconds until it finally stopped. We saw a big structure that looked like an amphitheater, so we headed that direction. It was a place that had petrified cats as décor and specialized in hot teas, while in the theatre, they had circus acts performing. There were couches to sit on and enjoy your tea and performing acrobats. We continued on to another place that had margaritas. They also had some people singing karaoke to “Love Shack”, so I picked up a plastic blow up guitar and pretended to jam out with them. In the back area of their camp, they had markers and scarves for guests to create their own scarves. Frenchy and I took the last two and each created a scarf. They spray them with alcohol and vinegar and let them dry in the sun while we finish our second margarita. On our way back to camp, we hear the sloppy sound of spaghetti being plopped on a plate, so we quickly brake, park and enjoy spaghetti. This was on one day between the hours of 11am-4pm. There are so many adventures to share, but this was one of my delightful and calm favorites.
Everyone eventually gets a “burner name”, usually determined
by others. Frenchy, because he has a thick accent, and is from France. My name
is Smiles.
