Authenticity

Burning Man is not a commercial event. Offers are not embedded in offers. Nothing much is for sale other than ice and drinks at the center camp cafe. Many attendees assume playa names and do not hand out business cards or in any way try to extend their momentary burner existence into the capitalistic consumption-obsessed default world. If someone offers you an iced coffee, it's just that, a refreshing, potentially stimulating drink. No come on for Starbucks or Peet’s or Coffeemania. No coupons for more, no survey right afterwards to find out if you liked it, just a here and now offering. Stepping back a moment I face that this is what it's like to live in a community--a big family. No one is anyone's mark. No agendas for dragging any moment into the future. Just fully now. It could be what's on the other side where there is no stock market, no pending economic doom, no undervalued or overvalued real estate. Just food, drinks, love and hugs to share. Heaven.