Burning Man 2008: Simple pleasures, simple truths

Is this utopia? A place where we all live in peace and as equals? It is so beautiful in the morning as the sun comes out. People are so joyful and friendly.

I had my first hot cup of tea this morning. Ahhh. There is a Coffee Camp with industrial-strength La Marzoccos and Seattle baristas (yay!), which is the only place you can buy anything with cash (besides Ice Camp) in this “gift economy.” Nothing else can purchased. You can give someone something, preferably something that reflects something personally, but you can't necessarily expect something back. I lent my lapptop to someone who was writing an email to his boss to say that he wasn't going to make it to work. I wasn't expecting anything but afterwards he let me pick a page from a stack of papers, which turned out to be a novel he had written himself. In another instance, a very handsome guy who walked by me slapped a sticker of my chest that said, “YOU.” “That way, if you forget who you are, look down!” he laughed with the purest sense of joy on his face. Of course, there's the usual SWAG (shit we all get) of glowsticks, flags, and condoms.

When I went to the temple two days ago, I was totally overcome by the serenity there. This is where people leave messages and tributes to lost loved ones, which are later burned on Sunday, the night after the Man flames out. Anyway, I don't usually get weepy over this kind of stuff, but I started to think about the loss of my mother and my wish for good health of my Dad, my family and friends. I also thought about my place in the world and how I might choose to live my life from here on in.

Yea, this is the place to think about big themes and simple truths.