By now you have hopefully done your laundry (check), cleaned your tent (check), cleaned your other gear (not yet) and settled back into life at home. If this was your first year in Black Rock City and you are reading this blog, then you were probably deeply affected by your experience. Did you learn about yourself, your friends, your community, and creativity? Many of you are experiencing a post Burning Man malaise as you try to figure out how to integrate your experience with your life at home. Decompressing can be tough and most of us go through it in some form or another no matter how many years we have been going. Fortunately, you do not have to go through this alone if you know where to look.
The first and best place to look for fellow Burners in your area is the Regional Network. The Regional Network is a year round collection of fellow participants around the globe. There are currently 208 Regional Contacts on 4 continents covering 109 Regional Groups. You can find your local contact at the Regional Contact page. Send them an email and get connected to your local community. Most regionals have events (including 34 official Regional Burns) where you can meet others that have been to Burning Man or are interested in the same lifestyle and ethos. If you live in an area that does not have a Regional Contact, you might consider stepping into that role yourself. Being a Regional Contact can be an amazing experience and will definitely connect you with a much broader community of fellow burners through out the world. To learn more about becoming a regional contact, visit this page.
Besides the Regional Network, there are many other events and organizations that share the Burning Man spirit. Burners Without Borders (BWB) is amazing organization that works year round to “bring our values off the playa to the rest of the world.” BWB focuses on civic projects in local communities. BWB connects people to local organizations, other like minded people and a world-wide network of doers. If you are civically minded, connect with BWB and help your community.
Another great organization is The FIGMENT Project, a grassroots group that brings participatory art to cities around the USA. FIGMENT currently has groups is 6 cities producing free festivals in city parks and other locations that focus on bringing the 10 Principles of Burning Man plus an additional principle, Gratitude, to their local communities. These festivals are amazing gatherings of people from all walks of life that highlights what can happen when people really embrace the ethos of Burning Man. In addition to these great organizations, independent groups all around the world are hosting events that bring Burning Man to various communities. These events include Chiditarod, 1st Saturday in San Diego, Robodock, and The Evolver Network to name a few. The only limit to bringing what you learned at Burning Man to your home and life is your own imagination.
There really is only one question: How are you going to bring what you learned about yourself at Burning Man home? Comment with other examples of events, organizations that embrace the Burning Man ethos and bring it to your real home. There is no default world. For further reading check out this amazing article, “5 Ways to Make Your Life More Like Burning Man.”
i learned that i don’t have to only go to disneyland to have fun. yay for burning man! but it could use a few more rides, though. maybe for next year!
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2012 was my first burn, with many more to follow! I was compelled to write an illustrated memoir. Is there a place to post it? It’s a series of 3 PDF because it contains text as well as a bunch of photos.
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