Default World
Sep. 9th, 2009 10:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pasitheaSaw this phrase again today and it still jars me, so I decided to comment on it. Default World is a term used at Burning Man (and in lots of other alternative spaces) to describe the world outside those spaces. It is the real/normal/mundane world.
Honestly, this concept really bugs me. The place you're in right now is probably not the default world. Most of us are living in a place that's quite a bit better. Certainly there are a lot of homophobes, racists, and selfish jerks in the mainstream world, but compare today with 50 or even 20 years ago, and the world we're living in right now is actually a pretty big improvement and despite the efforts of vested interests, it's only getting better.
Burning Man and its like are not alternate realities, they're closer to the future of this reality. Dare to dream of that. Dream of a world where people express, create, and share with one another because it's fun and just makes you feel pretty awesome. Better yet, don't just dream, do! It's really really easy to bring chunks of Burning Man into your day-to-day reality. Bake some cookies and share them at work. When you're walking somewhere, take the time to tell a stranger that they look awesome or smile and greet people as you're going somewhere. Create Alternate Reality Games and implement them around your town. Pick up some trash and put it in a bin. If you really want to mess with the 'default world', grab some friends and put on a random performance in a park or on a street corner or organize a flashmob.
If your world is a default world, it's as much your fault as those around you. Customize your world. Make it something better than it is. Believe in the power of your dreams and work hard to make them real. We who can go to Burn are privileged. Many people can't make it but that doesn't mean they aren't desperate for a taste. You can probably remember a time in your life when you dreamed of something more but didn't know how to reach for it. Take what you found at Burn and make it into gifts for them and yourself. There is no reason to live in a 'default' world.
Honestly, this concept really bugs me. The place you're in right now is probably not the default world. Most of us are living in a place that's quite a bit better. Certainly there are a lot of homophobes, racists, and selfish jerks in the mainstream world, but compare today with 50 or even 20 years ago, and the world we're living in right now is actually a pretty big improvement and despite the efforts of vested interests, it's only getting better.
Burning Man and its like are not alternate realities, they're closer to the future of this reality. Dare to dream of that. Dream of a world where people express, create, and share with one another because it's fun and just makes you feel pretty awesome. Better yet, don't just dream, do! It's really really easy to bring chunks of Burning Man into your day-to-day reality. Bake some cookies and share them at work. When you're walking somewhere, take the time to tell a stranger that they look awesome or smile and greet people as you're going somewhere. Create Alternate Reality Games and implement them around your town. Pick up some trash and put it in a bin. If you really want to mess with the 'default world', grab some friends and put on a random performance in a park or on a street corner or organize a flashmob.
If your world is a default world, it's as much your fault as those around you. Customize your world. Make it something better than it is. Believe in the power of your dreams and work hard to make them real. We who can go to Burn are privileged. Many people can't make it but that doesn't mean they aren't desperate for a taste. You can probably remember a time in your life when you dreamed of something more but didn't know how to reach for it. Take what you found at Burn and make it into gifts for them and yourself. There is no reason to live in a 'default' world.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 05:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 06:07 pm (UTC)