Burning Man

Radical Self-Reliance is a term used at the Annual Burning Man Festival in Northwest Nevada to remind the over 50,000 participants to keep their own physical, mental and emotional needs in good stead. With blazing heat, sudden and surprising dust storms and white-outs, and bone-chilling cold evenings, one must come prepared. Regardless of whether you simply showed up with a tent and some water, or have been working steadily for the entire year, the Burning Man Experience will still find something to surprise you with.

The city is designed in a clock-like fashion, with camps starting at the 2 o'clock position, and going down to 6, and all the way over to 10 o'clock. Streets are then overlayed onto this clock, denoted alphabetically from 'A' all the way through to 'K' and beyond if necessary. The system works, and despite some initial acclimatizing, keeps people organized and able to find their camps. That is, if the address your camp gives you is where they are at. So, what if you can't find your camp? You can either fruitlessly continue searching for them, or ask if you can join someone else. You will soon learn about 'letting go', as the effort it would take to get what you want is trumped by the need to stop moving.

'The Man', affably named, stands perched on top of 4 pillars, at the centre of the clock. Not only is he a symbol of humanity, but also a beacon, and landmark for people to orient themselves. In spectacular fashion, 'The Man' is lit from within, and with a flurry of explosions, fireworks, and cheers from the crowd, he begins to burn, and eventually topples in a mass of flames. Destructive, beautiful, symbolic - everyone gets something different from the experience. A secondary structure, deemed 'The Temple' is traditionally a more subdued locale, and generally attracts that part of us that is in pain, and searching for a way to release it. The following night, it too is alight with flames, symbolically destroying the troubled past for some, or a grudge held too long for others.

In a frantic mix of inhospitable weather, surreal sights, creative self-expression, and brotherly love, participants of The Burning Man Festival are treated to personal experiences they may never hold in the 'real world'. People seem to come to their senses out there in the desert, both in spite of and because of the unique characteristics of the environment. It is a brief, if intoxicating vision, of what is truly possible when a small group of people come together to create something new for us all to enjoy, and to transcend ourselves for a grander purpose: one that is much, much larger than ourselves as an individual.