I'm oxymoronic, even when I'm not
Ad CochleaeI’m full. Overfull, in fact… I feel as if I contain every emotion that it’s possible to feel, all at the same time. I’ve spent a lot of the last day or so in a free hotel room, writing and journaling and moving with some concentration to make some kind of relative sense out of everything that’s happening, has happened, and is about to happen.
Sorry.
Here’s what’s up:
I’m without a job right now, and I’m just about to head down Commercial Drive to canvass the local cafés for work. I only need two or three days a week to cover everything, and really that’s all I need and want, so hopefully it won’t be too difficult. I’ve also signed-up at an office temping agency, so hopefully that will yield a few days work.
Without boring you with too much detail, things in Vancouver (as far as the basics like accommodation and employment go) have not been very successful, ever since I arrived in September last year. It feels like I’m constantly trying to dig sideways and clear a path up to solid ground, and every few feet I get shoved deeper into this hole. In sum, it seems like Vancouver and I are just not resonating very well with each other, at this point in time. I am, simply, not feeling settled at all.
It’s not all bullshit, though—not by any stretch. I have made some amazing friends, plus I’ve been spending quite a lot of high-quality time with an intelligent, gorgeous and delightful woman, who, brilliantly, is named Randi. And, this continuous ‘digging’ has also led me into yet another re-evaluation of where I’m going and what I’m doing with my Life; basically, after feeling kind of stagnant for the last few months, I am once again feeling re-invigorated. Again, without boring you with the introspective details of how I got here, let me break it down for you…
[Cue thoughtful background string music, with montage of biological cellular growth and division]
What is Burning Man all about…?
What if we all practice Radical Self-Reliance?
Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources. Participants are expected to provide for their own food, water, clothing, shelter and other needs during the week in the desert. What you pack-in, you are expected to pack-out.
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What if we all practice Radical Inclusion?
Everyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community. Participants are obliged to find a place for others who wish honestly to participate.
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What if we all hold Gifting to be the highest form of sharing?
Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift-giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value. You may be offered a gift of anything by anyone at any time, and likewise may you gift anything.
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What if we all practice Decommodification?
In order to preserve the spirit of Gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are un-mediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
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What if Radical Self-Expression is encouraged?
Radical Self-Expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content; It is offered and shared as a gift to others.
In this spirit, the giver is expected to respect the rights and liberties of the recipients.
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What if we all help in the Communal Effort?
Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
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What if we all live up to our Civic Responsibility?
We value civil society. Community members who organise events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavour to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
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What if we all Leave No Trace?
Our community respects and aims for a symbiotic relationship with the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavour, wherever possible, to steward and leave places in a better state than we found them.
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What if we all Participate?
Burning Man is about participation, not simply attendance. Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work in their own capacity. Everyone is invited to play wherever they find space. We make the world work through actions that open the heart.
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What if you didn’t hesitate? Immediacy.
Immediate and spontaneous experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the realities and perceptions of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea or imagining can substitute this experience.
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Sound good? See you in 2011.
[Written in Calgary, Canada; July 12, 2010]
“Yesterday is ashes. Tomorrow is green wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly.”
~ Esquimo Proverb
You gotta deconstruct, to reconstruct.
One year ago on this date, Theresa and I split up.
Since then, everything in my life seems to have come around to the opposite point in its cycle, if not having come a full cycle…
It’s summer instead of winter. I’m in the opposite hemisphere, about to (re)begin a relationship instead of ending one.
SoS: Mach 3 was BEYOND EPIC. It’s 1:30pm the next day and I am still buzzzzzzzing… The punters loved us; we had a queue outside at 1:30am while Marshall Law was playing; Mike the owner was there most of the night despite saying he was going to leave early; and he is dead-keen to have SoS back again soon. The vibe was so indescribably positive… Loads of punters thanked us for our sets and we had a full dancefloor from about 11pm until 3am. We knew we had the concept sold when there were whoops, whistles and cheers during the breakdowns…!
The concept? “Participatory, Interactive Rave.” This is our vision of Rave Culture upgraded for the 21st Century.
The S.o.S. CyberBuddha
I’ve worked in bars & restaurants for almost 15 years, so I think I can say with some authority that I know what people are looking for when we go out on the weekend: We’re looking for a sense of community—a sense of belonging. We spend hours of our time and dollars of our money on disinhibiting liquors in order to be around and make contact with other human beings in a social setting. What we’re doing with S.o.S. is overtly encouraging people to make those connections.
We sought to bring some of the founding principles of Burning Man / Kiwiburn to the rave scene of Wellington, such as participation, inclusion, radical self-expression, gifting, etc. Generally we were just looking for the kind of party we’d all like to go to, yet weren’t finding available. So we did it ourselves. We put on a free gig, and got some really friendly points of difference put into play. We sought to implement some of the Good Things that we experienced at various burns into our mainstream, “default” world; and, we sought to demonstrate that it could be done without the need for a lot of money, or fake hype, or big-name artists—just by doing what we love. This is our Sense of Community… and we invite you to be a part of it.
More photos from the night can be viewed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50163262@N04/sets/72157624087417905/
Oxymoronism 