Are you ready to Evolve?

Courtesy of Burningman.com. Design by Rod Garret and Larry Harvey. Rendering by Andrew Johnstone and Rod Garrett.

"Nature never made a plan," intone the artists behind this year's Burning Man theme, "nor does it seem to copy very well.  No living thing is ever quite the same as others of its kind."

After more than twenty years, there's no doubt the same definitely holds true for Burners. With radical self-expression at the core of the Burning Man philosophy, endless creative permutations of individual and collective expression have evolved out of this most unique cultural experiment. Fitting that this year's theme is both retrospective and forward looking. Welcome to "Evolution," an examination of the power and meaning behind this miraculous process.

For this year's theme, Burners are asked to contemplate three questions: What are we as human beings?  Where have we come from? And how may we adapt to meet an ever-changing world? There is perhaps no better moment in time to ask these. We stand at a unique epoch, amidst a world in turmoil that is transforming literally before our eyes. How will humans evolve to meet the challenges of a world besieged by war, overpopulation, economic depression, climate change, and over-consumption, yet one that has never been more consciously aware and interconnected? A world daunted by convergent crises, yet equipped with tools and ideas unimaginable to generations past? Will we find a collective pathway out of the morass, or will we end up our own worst enemies and seal our own fate?

For Burners and the vast culture they have spawned, the key to surfing the apocalypse (from the greek meaning "lifting of the veil" or "revelation") is creativity and community, and the endless ways that each are continuously reinvented.

"Now adrift in our own gene pool, we have encountered a new phase of evolution.  We've become a conscious breed of culture-bearing animals.  Black Rock City is a kind of Petri dish, and Burning Man is an experiment in generating culture.  We've learned that culture's a spontaneous phenomenon.  It thrives as a result of numberless and unplanned interactions.  All that's really needed is a fitting social vessel to sustain it.  This happens best within communities that harbor many different modes of self-expression.  We've also learned that cultures effloresce when human beings feel free to offer up their gifts."

This year, take time to think about the path of your own evolution, how it brought you to Black Rock City, how it changed you forever, and left you in this moment in time in which you stand, staring down the barrel of an uncertain future, yet emboldened by the collective power of your fellows and that radically self-reliant "can do" spirit that guides us all. Take time to honor how you've grown, and how all around you humanity too has grown and learned. Take time to lament our missteps and failures, our rashness and impetuosity. Take time to honor all that has come before us, and contemplate all that lay ahead. For in the end, any Burner will tell you, its up to you to make change. We are the ones we've been waiting for.

This year's Burn promises to be epic. Are you ready to Evolve?