Honey, I’m Home! (From Burning Man)
Honey, I'm home!!
ICYMI—I went to Burning Man for the first time this year. ;)
For some (most?), Burning Man is pure fun: letting loose, wearing outrageous costumes, seeing epic art and music.
For me? I felt like I threw myself into a multi-week intensive. From the moment I decided to go (with only five weeks' notice), I wrestled daily with fear: fear of the unknown, fear of survival, fear of making it all happen. I was so focused on logistics that it wasn't until I was on the bus, pulling onto “the playa” that I even considered this week might actually be fun.
Burning Man showed me how much I brace for life instead of embrace life—and how often fear of the unknown colors the way I see the world.
Now, I can't say I made it easy for myself: I went sola, joined a camp where I knew no one, prepped in just five weeks—and oh yeah, squeezed in a family reunion on the East Coast the week before the burn…But! I did have an incredible team of legends* who stepped up in the most generous ways to get me to Black Rock City.
Once on playa, with my shift pod set up and my survival secured—I still noticed myself caught in the fear of the unknown. But I knew I didn't want this to be the story of my burn.
I remembered a phrase shared with me during my trip to Costa Rica earlier this summer, and knew I had found my mantra for the week:
Open your heart and face your fears.
Open your heart and face your fears.
Open your heart and face your fears.
For the rest of the week, I leaned into this mantra—every time I noticed that I said “no” out of fear and protection (not actual danger), I opened my heart and faced my fears. Every time I began to shut down or close off, I opened my heart and faced my fears.
And it led me to the most amazing, surprising, delightful, heart-opening experiences…“Playa Magic” as they call it.
This week's Seeds of Change is inspired by that mantra.
I've created a 12-minute guided meditation to help you practice the art of opening your heart and facing your fears + a story-time teaching from my time at the burn.
You can access those goodies here (FYI: Seeds of Change is now on Telegram!)
Looking back, I hold compassion for myself—after all, it was my FFT! (that's Brené Brown's “Fucking First Time”)…of course I couldn't know what it would be like until I got there! And yet… I also see how I want to approach future unknowns differently.
Because whether you're stepping onto the playa or into your own next adventure, the medicine is the same: more trust, less fear. More joy, less suffering. More embrace, less brace.
Strong back, soft front.
Listen to the meditation here.
~ ~ ~
*Shout out to my Team of Legends!
To Evan who drove to Reno to pick up our shift pods (tents). Ben who gifted me the warmest fur coat. Nick who mailed me snacks. Mike & Liz who handed me costumes and essentials. Jess & Johnny who stocked my fridge (and made me an amazing breakfast on the playa!). Jennifer, Mia & Michael who sent me off with sparkly treasures and goodies. And the GOAT, Avo—who sourced my camp, bike, generator, and AC—and personally drove 95% of my stuff to the playa so I could fly up and take the bus in. #absolutelegends
