Seventy-Three Thousand Shades of Grey
Satellite View of the 2023 Burning Man Camp
One need not be a Stoic to realize life is hard, and then we die. In between, there is a lot of pain and suffering due to societal pressures to conform, get an education, get married, raise kids, pay off the mortgage, and save enough to retire. But the Stoics also teach that while pain is the flavor of life, those who thrive in the face of hardship focus on what they can control and, act as if the obstacle is the way.
As such, life is meant to be an active engagement rather than a passive experience; as per Benjamin Franklin’s observation, “Many people die at 25 but are not buried till they are 75.”
Thus, we bear witness to that rebellious minority who buck the system to remind us we want more than just to live, but to feel fully alive. Not just survive, but thrive. In 1969, this was the impetus to gather in Yasgure’s 300-acre farm for Woodstock or, follow Jimmy Buffett to Margaritaville. And, more to the point here, annually gather in one of the most inhospitable deserts in the world to Burn The Man.
So when City Club member Ryan Boykin invited me to attend this year’s Burning Man festival as his guest, I jumped at the opportunity to cross off one more item on my bucket list.
To sum it up, Burning Man is all about Creativity, Sexuality, and Radical Self Reliance.
Like most characters in The Matrix, we are faced with the choice to take the red pill and engage in the thrills and uncertainties of life, or the blue pill, and return to the world of the Walking Dead. Burning Man is the red pill that induces creativity and sexuality (not sex). With sexuality being somewhat fluid, I saw seventy-three thousand Shades of Grey!
And then there is the part about radical self-reliance. Given that this desert is inhospitable to even ants and flies, one must haul whatever is needed to survive. When Burning Man turned into Raining Man, I was amazed to see how well everyone assessed the situation and responded accordingly.
If you have read Shantaram, you know about the transitory nature of existence and understand how a 25,000-person Indian slum could come together overnight, and disappear just as quickly. Now apply that idea to the New York Times claim that “For a week, Black Rock City, Nevada, is the wealthiest and most educated City in America.”
The desert is the obstacle; sexuality is the source of creativity. If we can spend over $100 million to build a city for a week, imagine what else we can do.
— Sina.