Burning Man. Part 2. Travel
Retreats of different shapes and forms
The flight as a retreat
I fly quite often, and I keep finding flights fascinating. At some point in the future we will be able to fly to space, and right now that idea feels mind blowing and impressive. But I am a strong believer that flying at 10km above the ground safely in an airplane with a lot of comfort it is just magic. Seeing the sun, some times seeing the Moon, even though if the weather is not great on the ground likely I won’t be able to see them. I love as well the fact that you are not connected to the internet in the airplane (it is not true anymore, as you can get a complimentary of paid wi-fi connection), and I find that 10.5 hours of being disconnected and being above the clouds as one of the great “meditation retreats”.
The friends house as a retreat
We stay at our friends place in the hills of Oakland. It is a very impressive house with a lot of open space, high ceilings, mid-century design elements, and fireplaces in few rooms (remember that I have a fetish for them from my previous posts). I find spending time in this house, meeting with an old friend and meeting new people as another type of retreat. I often find that the environment helps me to achieve a certain inner state (e.g. calm, or creative, or irritated) thanks to the space where I am in. Now I definitely feel creative staying at this house. I am inspired to spend more time at houses of friends - helping me to both connect with the friends, and ground myself with the nature and the architecture, and do something relevant in that geography.
The ultimate retreat
Today we go to purchase all the supplies (e.g. water, food, etc) for the next 10 days (e.g. from Aug 23 to Sep 2), which we spend at Burning Man, or traveling to or from. That will definitely be the “ultimate retreat” to spend those 10 days again mostly not connected to the internet, but to be very connected with friends, and with various people we meet along the way.
I intend to share about the “ultimate retreat” in the posts to follow.
