Burning Man Sculpture Inspires

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Additional Credit: Alexi Panos

I found this piece of art on The Mind Unleashed and it really spoke to me. It was an exhibit at Burning Man this year and seemed to be one of the most powerful pieces at the festival according to commentors.

The description by The Mind Unleashed is...
"The sculpture of two adults fighting, backs to one another...yet the inner child in them both just wants to connect and love one another."

I stared at the picture of this sculpture for far longer than I care to admit just soaking in all of the meaning it holds.

Here is another photo taken at the festival:

photo credit
Additional Credit: Ana Luisa

There is a quote by Confucius that often sticks in my head, "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." 

That is what comes to mind when I look at this powerful piece of art. All we want to do in this life is connect with others, to not feel so alone. We tend to get upset or get our feelings hurt over the strangest things. For the most part, we are all just bumbling through life trying to do the best that we can. 

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Even when things are going well, we tend to make up imaginary problems, at least I do. We set these expectations or restrictions on ourselves (or others) that are unrealistic and unnecessary. While looking at this sculpture, I am reminded to let go of all the anxiety and guilt and let that inner voice call out. 

We need to reach out to others past social standings, race, gender, sexuality and just love on each other. Why do we hold ourselves back anyway? All I want is love. I believe that is all most anyone wants in life is to feel loved, productive and connected. Just look at all the social media to connect with...but is anyone really connecting?

(This reminds me of the music video to "Alone" 

by Armin van Buuren, feat. Lauren Evans.)

Somehow, over the years, I have convinced myself that I can't be who I am and be loved at the same time. I'm not even sure exactly when it happened, but at some point I realized I was holding back more than I was putting myself out there. I'm learning, finally, that is ridiculous. We are all different, we are all meant to be different. How boring would the world be if we were all the same. However, it seems that is exactly what labels try to create...a place for everyone and everyone in it's box.

I'm done with boxes and labels. I've had a hard time with labels my whole life, probably because I never really felt like I belonged to any. I've had issues with identity too and have often felt like something was wrong with me. But why? I like Joe Martino's idea to let go of the idea of having to "fit in." In a world that is trying to make everyone the same, it is time to stand out, color outside of the lines and make a difference!

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I have a lot of different ideas stemming from the sculpture at Burning Man. Many of them are random and I'm not even sure if they relate. But, that's life. It's random and doesn't always make sense. I'm done apologizing for who I am.

We all have an inner voice inside of us, a soul, that just wants to connect and be remembered. We all fight sometimes, that is the other side of us all being different. I think it is okay not always to agree, but we still have to respect one another and it always helps to try and understand different point of views. 

The longer I live the more I prove to myself that I do not know everything. I absolutely make mistakes, and say or do the wrong thing. That's life, it's messy and hard and absolutely worth it! Because life is also spontaneous, luminous and glorious. I don't want to be afraid to connect or to be myself. In a world where you can be anything...be yourself.

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