Virgin No More

Virgin No More…
Part 1 - Getting there

Well it’s been 2 weeks since my return from the Playa. I was hoping for a gradual reentry, but mother nature had other plans. One of my favorite places on earth (prior to spending time on the Playa) is the British Virgin Islands (BVI). I have (or maybe had) a boat and many friends in the BVI. Well, the largest/most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic made a direct hit on this wondrous place.

No real time for gradual post Burning Man reentry…we’ve been working with friends and colleagues to try to support relief efforts and help our friends. That will be the subject of another post.

So with a little bit of time to process my experience as a Virgin Burner, I must say the one quote I shared proved to be true.  ‘whatever you think it is, it isn’t…it’s so much more!’ Indeed it is…SO MUCH MORE!


First I’d like to take a minute to share my sorrow that the experience had to include loss of life. As you may or may not know an unstable individual made several attempts and then was successful at throwing himself into the fire during the burning of the man. We will never know the why, but while tragic the whole of a city of 70,000 people will process this in different ways.



The immediate response was an outreach and a communal spirit of sorrow and solidarity…the call for additional security for the final night’s burning of the temple was met with overwhelming volunteer support that allowed the most sacred part of the event to go on as planned.

The burning of the man was characterized by one Burner as the loudest night on the Playa and the burning of the temple the quietest. It was truly surreal that final evening to see tens of thousands of people assemble around the temple and sit in silence as the temple was burned. I’ll talk more about the temple in a minute.

The tragedy will forever be part of my first Burn, but it was SO MUCH MORE.  I almost don’t know where to begin, but I’ll try a bit from the beginning. All the planning and logistics were in place as we went to the airport…a bit frantic as we had overweight luggage and were concerned about missing our flight to Reno.

Once on the ground in Reno, the pace began to slow a bit. Picking up the rental car and staying over night near the airport, was quite a contrast to the next night of sleeping in a tent on the Playa, but helped us let go of the chaos of jobs and life at home and relax into the whole plan.

The next morning was a bit more of logistics and supplies and then the drive to the Playa. Beautiful countryside as we drove thru towns like Lockwood, Fernley, Pyramid Lake, and finally Empire and Gerlach, the nearest suburbs to Black Rock City. The real trek begins when you leave the paved road and begin the drive into Black Rock City and the Playa. Even with pictures and eye witness accounts it’s hard to explain the dust. It assaults your senses…vision, smell, feel. It seems a bit overwhelming at first…but after a few days it seems normal…really.

An hour of driving about 10 mph in 6” deep Playa dust, 8 lanes of traffic necks down to three. Vehicles of all types are inspected, tickets checked, and then another short slow drive to the welcome center. The greeters first ask, “is this your first burn?” Answering yes gets you and invitation to a bit of an initiation ceremony, where you are asked to get out of your vehicle and become one with the dust. Basically they invite you to lie down in the dust and roll around with whatever enthusiasm you can muster. You are then helped up, hugged by everyone nearby, and welcomed into the community. You also get to ring a cool bell to signify that you are no longer a virgin!

Virgin Playa Welcome

I still didn’t know what to expect. (more later…)

Once the dust gets in your pores…I don’t think it ever leaves!

Virgin Burner 

…the name given to first time residents of Burning Man.

I learned a new acronym yesterday..TTITD. This is a somewhat benign reference to the annual event that is Burning Man, aka That Thing in the Desert. There are as many opinions about what Burning Man is as there are people who’ve never been. Is it a festival? A week-long communal rave? A hippie tripping art festival? Well, when I first learned about it (in an attempt to understand what some of my Burner friends were saying), I did my research. First of all, Burner is the affectionate name for those who have experienced the Playa and Playa is the name given to the desert and the culture that resides there for roughly one week a year.

It was a bit overwhelming to read all the various accounts and opinions on the internet. So I sought out as many veterans and recent Burners as I could find. Almost to a person, the message was clear, ‘whatever you think it is, it isn’t…it’s so much more!’ A blogger and guest writer for the HuffPost said, “It has always been a fossil fuel powered orgy of creative expression that doesn’t have much to say about politics or political engagement.” Anna Smith wrote in The Guardian, “Attending the Burning Man festival in Nevada is like landing on another planet: a vast desert populated by a peaceful, friendly, out-there people, with a culture all its own.”

According to Wikipedia Burning Man is an annual gathering that takes place at Black Rock City—a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It really is a city, but only for about a week a year. It is a roughly 6 acre site in the desert that is completely empty 11 months and 3 weeks a year, but for about 10 days around every labor day is populated by roughly 70,000 Burners and filled with art, music, and a culture that is likely completely foreign to most; and a week later there is nothing but some packed desert dust in the shape of the cities roads.

Whatever others say, I’ve been assured by those who have a bit of Playa dust in their veins and probably more than a little in an old suitcase that they open up every August or so, it will be the most remarkable experience _________ (fill in the blank). I’ve also been told to leave your judgement at the gate and keep an open mind.

Well this year I’ve been lucky enough to score a ticket and have been feverishly making plans and learning about the 10 principles and how to survive on the Playa. You can’t buy anything, but ice and coffee…no food or other supplies and you have to take everything away with  you…and I mean EVERYTHING! The 10 principles were crafted by one of the co-founders as an organizing guide for regional events (yes…it’s more than TTITD) to convey the culture that is Burning Man. The event is described as an experiment in community and art, influenced by these 10 main principles: "radical" inclusion, self-reliance and self-expression, as well as community cooperation, civic responsibility, gifting, decommodification, participation, immediacy and leaving no trace.

First held in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco as a small function organized by Larry Harvey and a group of friends, it has since been held annually, spanning from the last Sunday in August to the first Monday in September. Burning Man 2017 is being held between August 27 and September 04.

I know this all may sound a bit unusual and maybe even a little out-of-character for those of you who know me in one walk of life or another, but if I view them as a lens for the ‘remarkable experience’ I’ve been told to expect, I’m hoping for something special and some fuel for Optional Thought!

So please forgive me in advance for any radically inclusive cooperative civic-minded self expression I may choose to gift to the community after I spend my time as a Virgin Burner savoring the dust of the Playa.

6 days until the Man Burns!!  

 

See you on the other side...

Apparently Optional Thought is Optional

Well, it's been years...literally, since I've penned something on this blog. So much has been happening, I feel a bit guilty for not taking some time to chronicle things a bit.

Perhaps the idea that this is a place for such a wide range of topics: thoughts, opinions, rants and commentary on subjects ranging from technology, arts, education, politics, recreation, spirituality, and entropy, has been part of my obstacle. I have not stopped writing, but have taken more to introspective and therapeutic, rather than something I feel might be interesting to others. 

I am taking a few minutes to write here in hopes that I will find more regular attendance or may invite some guests to write here as well. Let me know if you have some thoughts to share. I may post a few leading ideas and writing prompts over the next few months in hopes of stimulating Optional Thought.

Happy New Year - Expectations and Disappointment.

Well the New Year has arrived in classic style. Lot's of discussion of resolutions and renewed commitments to last year's (albeit slightly modified) goals. For me it's the usual, renewed commitment to the gym and eating right; nothing too grand. While moving through the various holidays and seeing the chaos that often comes with this frenzied time of year, I was struck that during this time of celebration people can get so stressed out and irritable and unreasonable. Why do so many people look forward to this time of year, but end up angry or at least disappointed in the midst of it?  I suspect it is a combination of many things, but at the root of much if it might be expectations. Expectations can motivate us to achieve our goals, add excitement to a future happening, or they can set us up for misery.

It is natural to have expectations for the holidays. They may be from memories of happy childhood Christmas or Hanukkah celebrations; or they may be from the commercially manufactured vision foisted upon us by advertising; or some other idea of how things 'should' be. However, many of these expectations are never met and some even have negative expectations from past conflicts or misadventures. My experience with expectations goes well beyond holiday excitement and disappointment.

One of the most potent elements of any vision of the future, near or far, is expectations. In business and particularly sales there is talk of managing expectations. What does that really mean? Usually it means that someone's expectations need to be adjusted...usually downward. How did they get to be too high in the first place? In personal experiences elevated expectations can lead to much more than an unhappy customer. I find that the general attitude of someone is a good indicator of how they 'manage' their own expectations. If someone is generally happy and positive it is a fair bet that they have limited expectations, especially for the behavior of others. Most of my challenges with expectations come from some idea that I can get others to do what I want exactly when I want it. This is as true in business as in personal dealings.

Since this is the season of resolutions, I think I will resolve to manage my expectations to focus on things that I can actually control (myself) and let the concern for the future be more filled with wonder than worry. Having expectations that are within my control and not focusing on undoing past disappointments or achieving someone else's idea of what my future should be like or worse yet how others should behave should make for a much improved year in 2012.

A friend recently suggested that rather than making resolutions for the new year, we should focus on choosing something to leave behind in the old year.  I kind of like that. I think I'll leave behind unrealistic expectations and the disappointment that is sure to follow.

Have a Happy 2012!!

Holiday Greeetings and a promise.

Well it's the 'Holiday' time of year. No matter what your personal creed or lack there of, it is hard to not share in some of the merry making that is this frenzied time of year. As clearly demonstrated by my lack of writing these last few months it's not just the holiday time, but everyday it is easy to neglect things in the chaos that is life.

So without further ado... 
Happy Holidays!...
Happy Hanukkah!...
Merry Christmas!...
Happy Solstice!...
Happy New Year!...
and good wishes no matter a celebration or not.

The promise is that I will try to get back in the mode of writing some 'Optional Thoughts'. Some may be random and some may be more thoughtful, but either way I will try to write.

Sharing excitement...a path to success!

I was reflecting on my fortunate life and looking at the successes and failures I've had. The best things in my life have occurred as a result of being excited about something.  I look back on my life and find that this is true even for the things that seemed difficult. Learning to play a sport or an instrument (never was that good, guess I needed to be more excited)...mastering a difficult subject in school, bringing a new project to completion in my job, meeting new people and really getting to know them, teaching a skill to a beginner, mentoring a younger professional, even overcoming bad habits.

Excitement or passion or enthusiasm...whatever it takes to get you focused; find it and use it. If you aren't happy with something in your life change it by finding a task, a project, a hobby...something that gets you excited. It doesn't have to be a grand undertaking. Even simple things like going to a movie (the kind YOU like, not the ones everyone else says you should like), meeting someone new, take a spur of the moment trip...it doesn't really matter, just do it!

It doesn't mean that you can or should give up on those things that are difficult and/or not very exciting, some of those things still need to be done. A change in attitude from finding some excitement is contagious, it can make those mundane things seem more interesting or at least more acceptable. It give you options that maybe you didn't realize you had.

Put those options together with the excitement and success will come. It doesn't have to be a success to anyone, but you...but a success will come and that's contagious too. Sharing your excitement with others is as valuable as finding it in the first place.

So do something exciting and then share it with others...That is what makes a successful life!

Achieving Balance...a life's work.

I know I've been writing some dark and negative things lately, so here's something a bit more up beat and truly a reflection of what I believe is important in life.

A friend recently asked me about how to achieve balance in a life full of chaos and responsibility. If I had a definitive answer to that I would consider myself very fortunate. I think that finding and recognizing balance in out lives is part of the journey; and as we get glimpses of what is possible we have a choice to seize the moment.

I have long thought about the balance of life, for me it is perfectly represented by the yin-yang. Whether a balance of good and evil, light and dark, physical and spiritual the entwined nature of our lives is illustrated so simply by the twisting shape and contrast of colors. There is no right side up, the circular nature of it allows us to think about the balance both as a static moment and the circle that is life...to quote a favorite of mine, Harry Chapin...

All my life's a circle;
Sunrise and sundown;
Moon rolls thru the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.

All my life's a circle;
But I can't tell you why;
Season's spinning round again;
The years keep rollin' by.

I often find these word rolling through my mind...pun intended. So much of life is a continuum and if we let life get out of balance we find ourselves struggling. We have goals and responsibilities, but without balance so much energy is wasted and happiness missed.

Always remember to take time for yourself and remember the old adage, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." So simple, but so true. Without seeking the pleasures in life we can become dull...dull of spirit, dull of wit, and less than who we should be for ourselves and our loved ones.

Seize the opportunities...make a change, add something fun to your life, take a risk, live the life you have instead of working too hard for the life you hope to have...it will come. Do something for yourself, something you love or something you've never done before. Don't convince yourself it is selfish or not worth your time...you are worth your time and no one can give you balance, you have to take it!