seasons change...

it's really only been in the last few days that fall seems to have arrived in the truckee meadows with finality. we had some rain, and it was cold for a little bit after (and DURING) the migration home from the playa, but then it warmed again and we were treated to near-idyllic days with cool/chilly mornings and warm days/afternoons...

Photo by Kristen, Ranger Social 2010

another year of burning man has passed, and a friend of mine, scotto, makes it a point to reflect after each burn and codify what lessons he learned. i think that's a pretty nifty idea, so here is what i learned from burning man 2010:

• sometimes less really is more, especially when it comes to working on the playa!
• always be willing to take advantage of opportunity when it knocks, sometimes wonderful things happen to good people.
• friends are the family you choose, and the importance of that family during vacation, survival in harsh desert environs and thru dust storms and drama is not to be undervalued.
• be good enough at what you do to realize your shortcomings and brave enough to let go when someone who CAN do what you were tasked to do comes along to take over. the importance of knowing when you've found your replacement is cannot be overstated.
• men look cute in tutu's also!
• b1rd's can do GREAT on the playa, if you care about them enough to give them adequate care and lots of love and attention. chickens? not so sure...
• some people should not give lap dances; some stuff just CANNOT be scrubbed from the retinas.
• massages on playa are sublime!
• double rainbows are ALWAYS the bomb!

Photo by Twita2005 on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/twita/

i am pretty sure i've done this before, in another venue. if i find those posts, i may bring them here. not sure yet, as burning man is undeniably a part of my history.

i was going to write something about teaching SEED's in this post. this has been an amazing experience for me, so far. in many ways, i feel like i've failed my daughter for some of the rough times she went through, and i can't count the amount of time i've spent reparenting myself to correct wrongs of my past. adolescence is a traumatic and confusing time, and i wasn't sure how i'd respond to helping others through it...

Used under creative commons license. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pomegranate_opened.jpg

i have become very attached to the seedlings in our program. they make me smile, i am awed by their grace, willingness to learn, their bravery and their ability to be candid. i can't wait to see where this year takes me!

that's what i am up to. it's time, at the time, to become introspective, as it always is when the wheel of my own persona year turns. i experience "new year" somewhere between the end of burning man and samhain =) my pagan heart says samhain, but so much of my year culminates at burning man, i think the older i get, the less absolutes i have in my world, the better =)

i've recently been participating in some "open to love pujas"....ceremonies given by a friend once a month at a local yoga studio where people learn to connect on many different levels. there's one thursday and man, am i looking forward to it. i have been feeling adrift and a tad sorry for myself of late. but never, NEVER so sorry that i would wish to be anyone but who i am, experiencing the life i have. my blessings are so great that i wonder every day at how lucky i am.

peace.