Daily life at the festival
Every day, when I left my house, I always took with me goggles, a mask, eye and nose drops, even if there was no storm at the moment. Sandstorms here start unexpectedly, and it's very uncomfortable without the necessary protection.
The first two days, I explored everything completely alone, met random people, attended workshops, and watched various activities. I remembered a place where everyone was invited to go to the camp and kiss random people, saunas where dozens of people washed together naked on the street, and psychedelic workshops where they talked about how technology changes reality and our beliefs.
The first two days of Burning Man taught me not to cling, to move forward - a chance encounter, an art object, a dance floor - you try it, and as soon as you feel the wave, you move forward.
It's as if somewhere in this desert I understood that our life is an abundance of opportunities. But sometimes I don't understand this and try to cling to a state, time, place, situation to hold onto something.
Here, the conclusions from Vipassana came to mind and overlaid on this new reality. Everything is endless changes. And to be in balance, you need to stop clinging to anything, become an observer, see the good and bad as code, like ones and zeros.
Vipassana and Burning Man complement each other very well. I meditated during the festival for at least 2 hours every day. It helped to ground the experience and cope with the heat and lack of sleep.
By removing all expectations of how I wanted to spend my time, who to meet, I accidentally ended up at incredible events and parties, met old friends I hadn't seen in over 3 years. It was especially amazing to meet among the 70,000 citizens of Black Rock City people who I missed so much.
It was interesting to see the surroundings through the eyes of friends who were not here for the first time. There is an unwritten rule here - don't judge anything, observe and if you don't like something, just move forward. Perhaps that's why no matter where you are, you feel free.
People here opened up to me in a different way. Everyone has similar goals, ready to hang out day and night, endure the heat and dust, regardless of status, income level, or education. Here, everyone is family and equal.
Here, people are ready and willing to help each other, even if you're a stranger. Everyone traditionally brings gifts here. If someone didn't bring gifts, they give smiles, hugs, and do something for you. They also do something useful for the entire community of 80,000 people.
Around me, there are thousands of art objects, each of which is built with meaning: something reminds you of the value of relationships, something reminds you of what you have now and what you have achieved, and something reminds you that we, humans, create problems for the place we live.
It turned out that the city has a script. It starts to be built weeks before day X. Each camp has its own scenario - someone makes food, brews coffee (like ours), someone throws parties, pours alcohol, someone builds an orgy dome (so that everyone who wants to can come there to have sex), someone gives lectures, organizes saunas, etc. All of this is free for festival participants. Some people arrive much earlier to build a camp and prepare venues for activities. Some stay after the festival to disassemble and remove everything from the desert without leaving a trace.