My Burning Man
I am going to start this blog by saying that I know Burning Man isn’t for everyone. If you are one of those people who know Burning Man isn’t your thing, it’s ok if you don’t read this blog, just come back in a couple days and read another one of my blogs.
Mike and I went back to Burning Man (“home” as it is referred to) for the first time in 10 years. It was hard to believe that it had been that long, so we were ready. We were excited as we and so many things have changed for us since the last time we were there.
We decided to join the camp, Disco Oasis, a Denver based art car. This was the first time we participated in building an art car and I have to tell you, it’s a lot of work! We spent numerous days making LED palm trees, covering the car in records, and other projects to make a fun, easy way for us to get around the Playa. We were a smaller camp, 18 people, from all over that left the burn as friends.
For those of you who don’t know, Burning Man is held the last week of August in the desert in Nevada. Does that sound hot to you? It was!! We had record setting heat at 114 and the other days didn’t feel much cooler. We also had lots of wind and dust storms that produced numerous white outs and a funnel cloud as big as a tornado I was in when I was younger. We also had one day while we were peddling around (we rode bikes everywhere) and as the winds picked up we saw lots of lightening in the darkening skies. As we rode past the ranger station, we heard them announce that they were expecting a huge rainstorm and we should seek shelter, so we raced home. As we got back to camp, we started to secure camp from things that may blow away. As we got to a point where we were happy we secured as much as we could, the winds died down. We heard on the radio that the weather storm passed over us and we were given the all clear to go out again. What an adrenaline rush! We did go back out that night and had a great night!
I felt like the art was amazing. There were big installations and small ones. Some of my favorites were a round room filled with mirrors and had a ceiling of twinkling lights that just made me giggle when I was in it. There was also a spinning LED feature that had different designs that was set to music, that I could have gotten lost under for hours. There was also a bird sculpture that was made with the metal pieces that were left after a fire in California destroyed a town. It was interesting to see utensils, guns, wrenches, etc be welded together to make such a beautiful piece from such a tragic event. I also loved a simple looking tree of lights (led strands that came down from a center point to form a triangle you could walk in) that reacted to musical instruments they had under it. My favorite was when a rain stick would be used, it would make the whole thing just sparkle!
Burning Man seems to bring out the creativity in people and people usually bring their A game. That goes for the musicians too. We saw some great sets from big names to people we haven’t heard of before. Some were at big sound camps, some people were at smaller ones, but we always found something we could dance to.
I thought going into this Burn, I would spend more time at workshops than I did. The big problem I have is I never know what time it is when I’m out there. I do carry my phone with me, but rarely pull it out unless I want to take a picture. The workshops I did make, I enjoyed and learned something from each of them. My favorite being Pussy Licking 101. I am never really comfortable sexually with other women and as I practiced on a piece of cantaloupe, I felt like I wasn’t such an amateur anymore.
Overall, I thought Burning Man was great. Of course there were some mishaps and disappointments along the way. My biggest disappointment was that our art car never really made it out of camp. I also lost my favorite pair of sunglasses (petty I know, but it’s hard to find sunglasses I feel comfortable wearing at night), so that was a big bummer for me. The heat and dust kept us close to camp during the days so we didn’t explore as much as I feel like we have in the past.
Like everything I do, I like to learn something from my adventures and Burning Man is no different (actually it is probably where I started that practice). Let me tell you about some things I have learned from this year’s burn. The first lesson is a lesson I have to relearn all the time. It’s fun to do things as a group but it’s also fun to break away and do your own thing. I love to be around people and I love to watch people having fun so it’s hard for me to say I want to pull away and do my own thing. Every time that Mike and I did that, we had a blast.
This year, I also spoke up more. I am usually fine being a follower but this year, I found my voice and said what I wanted to do and took control of situations when there was confusion and it felt great! I don’t always trust myself but when a friend made a comment about how she was inspired by how I took control of a situation it made my confidence soar.
The last thing I want to talk about is how Burning Man affects my relationship. Burning Man can be challenging and can put a strain on relationships (there are more than one workshops on how not to break up during Burning Man). I did not feel that way once this year, actually I feel even closer to Mike. He was amazing. He took such good care of me and our campmates. He was a rock that everyone relied on. He would help me with my bike issues and make sure it was charged daily. He never made me feel rushed when I was getting ready (some days I was on struggle bus while I was getting ready). One night I had a bit of a panic attack and who was right there to help me out, Mike. I felt so secure and taken care of. He never ceases to amaze me. I think this was our best Burning Man as a couple.
Burning Man is such an adventure. It has highs and it has lows. Every year I learn something about myself and walk away with amazing memories, even if they are not all great. This Burning Man was no exception to that.
Did you go to Burning Man? What were some of your takeaways? Drop me a line on social media or at Steph@KoruLifeCoaching.com
