It was incredible. Want some blueberry tea? There’s people in the middle of the forest brewing incredible blueberry tea, just bring a container.
Want food, dessert, tobacco (yes not good unless it was something you would seek out anyway), coffee, etc? Some community will have it, and you’ll have a map where they are. There’s a theater in the middle of the woods putting on shows and music, there’s metal barrels over fires being used to bake cookies for anyone who wants them, there’s a dude walking around hand-rolling cigarettes yelling “Nick at Night!” for those that are craving.
Money isn’t allowed. Most things are just publicly offered, and otherwise it’s a barter economy, usually with the person “selling” something happy enough to take a flower you found in the woods, or a cup of coffee, and they’ll happy give you the beautiful little carving they worked on, they mostly want to share their art.
The vast majority of people I met were incredibly kind, I heard amazing stories, and as a younger person I learned a lot about how people really can be kind to each other without assumption or an expectation of return. I saw a lot of walks of life. I wasn’t sheltered growing up, so I had seen my share of struggle, but that event really made me realize that there is genuine good in people. Not just helping others because it makes them feel good, but just helping others because they can, and it’s the right thing to do, and it’s how we get better as a species.
I feel like it was what burning man pretends to be. No alcohol and no drugs are allowed, there’s no “$15 and you can shower here you pleb” garbage. I doubt millionaires are picking out their outfits to go there, it’s not glamorous.
When I was in college I took a road trip with some friends to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Gathering
It was incredible. Want some blueberry tea? There’s people in the middle of the forest brewing incredible blueberry tea, just bring a container.
Want food, dessert, tobacco (yes not good unless it was something you would seek out anyway), coffee, etc? Some community will have it, and you’ll have a map where they are. There’s a theater in the middle of the woods putting on shows and music, there’s metal barrels over fires being used to bake cookies for anyone who wants them, there’s a dude walking around hand-rolling cigarettes yelling “Nick at Night!” for those that are craving.
Money isn’t allowed. Most things are just publicly offered, and otherwise it’s a barter economy, usually with the person “selling” something happy enough to take a flower you found in the woods, or a cup of coffee, and they’ll happy give you the beautiful little carving they worked on, they mostly want to share their art.
The vast majority of people I met were incredibly kind, I heard amazing stories, and as a younger person I learned a lot about how people really can be kind to each other without assumption or an expectation of return. I saw a lot of walks of life. I wasn’t sheltered growing up, so I had seen my share of struggle, but that event really made me realize that there is genuine good in people. Not just helping others because it makes them feel good, but just helping others because they can, and it’s the right thing to do, and it’s how we get better as a species.
I feel like it was what burning man pretends to be. No alcohol and no drugs are allowed, there’s no “$15 and you can shower here you pleb” garbage. I doubt millionaires are picking out their outfits to go there, it’s not glamorous.