I am home from the burn, showered, and back into schedules and meetings. Before all that fades the feeling I have now, I want to anchor some of the experience I had out there as a Facebook post, in part because it was so memorable for me and everyone there, and in part because without serious cleanup it might be the last burn, and relatedly the media got it wrong early on so many people believe it was a disaster. It was, but then it wasn’t, and that is what makes it so incredible to have gone through firsthand.
This was my first time since 2008 going with a big theme camp. I had been really bruised from my last experience, even though I would not trade it for anything. This year we camped at camp Kiss, 170 people strong, led by incredible humans such as Eric Lohela and Seth Bunting and Tirza Lyn Hollenhorst and Anwen Cai Baumeister and @Maximilian. And so many new friends. I am grateful to have gone through this with everyone there… I believe in radical self reliance and would have been fine either way safe in my RV with internet (netflix and chill during the rains), but going through it with Kiss particularly was the community experience of a lifetime.
I learned so much about leadership in crisis from those humans. And from everyone in camp that contributed to the container holding us all not just safe, but well-cared-for and thriving, with so much love in our hearts that we all came together to support each other in what many (myself included) described as the best burn ever. To be able to hold the human experience through crisis, and to adapt real-time to a rapidly changing environment that could test the health and even lives of over a hundred people, with grace, communication, and the big picture in mind, is a rare skill indeed. And that is exactly what the world needs right now from its leaders.
It was like burning man before instagram, when dark and quiet marvels can be heard whispering to come explore their vortices and mysterious synchronistic peak experiences. Truly the inspiration we need to overcome the difficulties ahead of us all, in a way that is accessible and can be taken in intimately. It was for the makers. For the builders and artists that make Burningman something more than any simple festival
It was hard on people.. those with kids at home, those with urgent needs and less community support for survival supplies- food, water, and fuel. Those with tents. I understand why many had to leave their things behind and walk out. And that some did less than their part to clean it up.But it was in equal measure transcendental- survival is always a part of the experience at Burningman. And so the depth of the challenge was equaled by the height of the forces marshaled to overcome- forces of generosity, of openness and communication, of collaboration on solving problems, of help and support and the incredible once-in-a-lifetime sublime vibe when we took time to relax. I have thought I’ve been at the best party on the planet before. This was something else. The best of everything else expressed as a party.
And the message will get out. I believe that the energy there will follow through to a collective cleanup of the chords buried in the mud, the cars left on the desperate way out. But for those that had the luxury of patience, it was nothing short of a blessing. And we are all equal victims of climate change- a record-breaking El Nino collects excessive moisture all over the Pacific, and leads to the hurricane that started the build week as well as 4 months of rainfall for Black Rock city in 1 day. While we knew this could happen, nobody could be prepared. All we can do is come together to support those that need it, and raise awareness of where the real fault lies: those that profit from fighting our best efforts to stop making it worse.
Thank you to everyone who reached out, and to everyone who is still there cleaning up. I feel you and the strong community you create together, and I believe that shared sense of purpose will carry on for some time longer. We thrived and the recovery will show what Burningman is really about, equally as strong as the impression of disaster that blasted out of there when it was raining.