The Big Miss

Homesickness....

Up until the past week or so, missing home has manifest itself as the occasional pang of longing. In a reflective moment I'll remember how nice it was to enjoy a proper beer or a passable wine, the fun surprise of standing at a party and have PleasureSean walk in and hand you a CD of new music or the liberating feeling of having your own kitchen where you can make whatever food that happens to sound good rather than take yet another gamble on the skills of a local cook. Things like those do make me miss home but you can take the longing in stride. Something comes up at this time of year, though, that for me...at least for the prior decade...has defined late summer: the final run-up to Burning Man.

Just like any major, annual happening, you always know it's out there in orbit. About two weeks ago, though, I could feel it in my bones. From ~12,000 miles away, it pulls like a migratory call. I could smell the Playa dust as my friends pulled their gear out of storage. I remember the added stress (and satisfaction) at work as you try to get everything organized for the time away. We see the e-mails flying around for everyone who's going and, for the first time, I'm really sad to not be in (at least one part of) my old life. Those who've had the very lucky fortune to partake of the giving and sharing that takes place at Burning Man have tapped into and helped to grow something that is valuable beyond quantification. The community that we share in Black Rock City doesn't come often in life. If you're lucky, you might find a similar depth of connection in your family or close group of friends. The openness and acceptance you find at Burning Man, though, have a different quality because people make a choice to make the long trek out there and endure the same potentially harsh conditions that you do.....because they know the effort is all worth it.

From a great distance, I'm happy to say, Burning Man looks even better. For the most part, Tami and I have been an isolated, little two-person caravan. We meet other travelers but they come from many different places and all walks of life. That's good for variety but you can meet a ton of them before coming across someone you think could make a deeper connection with. Out here, making those connections is even more difficult because everyone is on the move. Most meetings are brief and the potential of any friendship left speculative.

If you've been to Burning Man, you know that something happens in the weeding-out process where the liklihood of meeting a person of complementary mind and soul is much higher than your normal, day-to-day life. So what does that tell you????? If you don't make those kinds of connections or get to be a part of that kind of community most of the year at home.........and, from our perspective out here in backpacker land, community is even harder to cultivate.......you sure as heck should cherish the opportunity to partake of it when you can.

I've always said I didn't think I'd be able to be anywhere within striking distance of Burning Man and not attend. Now, from such a long way away, I miss it more than I might have guessed. The good news is, Tami and I aren't conceding anything. We decided to celebrate concurrently with our own "burn" in Varanasi. If you know anything about Varanasi (it's all about fire, spirituality and letting go), you'll understand what a perfect place it is to be if we can't be at Black Rock City. We posted an invitation on the Lonely Planet and Burning Man discussion sites. Whether we have anyone join us or not, know that we'll be right there with any of you on the Playa in real time sharing our all.