When There Are No Rules, Who Are You?
"Out of Nothing, Comes Everything."
-Larry Harvey
By Cameron Harrington
When there are no rules, who are you?
In late August 2007, I landed at the minuscule Nevada airport. I grab my bag and am immediately pulled toward a group of 5 people. I know some of these people, some I don’t, but by the end of the week, I will love them.
We rush to the runway toward a tiny plane made for six. I duck in to avoid hitting my crown of pink ribbon braids. The engine begins, and so do the butterflies in my tummy!
I had heard of this magical land for the last two years, and I was about to experience an emersion unlike anything before! As we move through the air, the sky fades into deep mystical blue-black, and twinkling stars emerge. Soon my friends burst with excitement and pressing themselves up to the salad plate-sized windows, look down to take in the glowing ball of neon undulation called Burning Man.
Finally, the plane starts to descend, and I can begin to make out the half-moon shape of a city in the desert! The door opens to reveal a painted sign that says, “Welcome to Black Rock City.”
The airport attendants were unhappy with our late arrival; ignoring them, we handed over our tickets and hustled toward the brilliant world of wonder. Bright-colored costumes, muted by fine white dust, rushed past. Electronic beats constantly enticing you to join in dancing, with one DJ’s rhythm merging with the next.
The Playa is littered with colossal art cars that look like ships, felines, and jellyfish cruising by slowly. Some people ride bikes that glow and blink as they weave through the endless river of self-expressed, ambling humans. This eclectic river flows on; breathing, conversing, laughing, dancing, preaching, with top hats, being topless, wearing faux-fur, goggles, and burly boots, all of the people behaving so alive and looking right at you and into your soul.
This humbling and moving experience is called:
Burning Man!
(More below!)
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Self Expression Practice:
Give yourself a bit longer to get started tomorrow morning.
Then, when you are about to get dressed for the day, STOP.
Don’t just grab the next thing or what you usually wear or should wear.
Instead, feel into who you are TODAY.
How will what you wear express YOU via color and texture?
Create your attire from the space of how you want to feel and express yourself.
Have fun and be creative; add another layer of color.
Don’t overthink. Go with the flow.
Then bring in a scent that moves your spirit.
Are you earthy or floral and bright or maybe something more subdued today?
Finally, strike a pose. Stand in a way that expresses your remarkable self!
Be big and bold, or reflective and calm; permit yourself.
Your expression is your soul work.
Bringing ALL OF YOU forward permits others to be more themselves too!
