Welcome home

Dear fellow travelers,

In 2006, I traveled alone to the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert.

At the time, I didn't realize just how much that experience would shape me.

All I knew was that I had to go there.

So suddenly I found myself sitting in a camper van with five strangers, heading for the desert.
With homemade costumes, way too much luggage, and without really knowing what to expect.

When we arrived, dusty, beaming people greeted me with the words:

"Welcome home."

And that's exactly how it felt.

Because something suddenly became possible there that I was hardly familiar with in my everyday life:

People were allowed to be visible.

Creative.
Strange.
Free.
Soft.
Loud.
Playful.
Vulnerable.

No one had to prove themselves first in order to belong.

People danced,
built,
shared,
made music,
gave gifts,
laughed,
cried,
and created an entire city right in the middle of the desert.

A city based not on consumption but on participation.

And even though tens of thousands of people gathered there, many things felt more natural than in the “normal” world.

Maybe because so many people allowed themselves to truly be present.

Not just as a character. But simply as a person.

I think that experience has shaped me to this day.

The idea that spaces can be created where people don't have to adapt first in order to feel welcome.

Spaces where expression, connection, humor, creativity, and humanity can coexist.

I think that's exactly what we're looking for.

To places where we feel alive again.

With love and a warm "Welcome home,"
Jeannette