Me and Matt, Burning Man, 2000, Canon Elph SD1000

This is Matt and me at Burning Man in 2000, only hours after selling each other at the Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet. If you haven’t been to Burning Man, you should know that it’s a big art festival in Nevada. A temporary city erected in the middle of the desert, for one week each year, full of theme camps, art installations, costumes and beautiful freaks. Some of the most extraordinary art you could ever see is built out there (and then ceremoneously burned on the last night of the festival)

Every time I begin to describe Burning Man I feel like words fail me. The experience is so big, so expansive, so colorful, so outrageous… it’s difficult to do it justice. I will say that everyone who goes to Burning Man is transformed by it. But this isn’t a post about Burning Man, it’s about Matt! and the fact that we are celebrating our fifth anniversary this week. Happy anniversary honey!

Matt and I were a part of a big theme camp called Glitter Camp and on the morning this photo was taken we both woke up early and took a walk. We came across the Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet. It was the equivalent of a dating service and they took your photo and had you fill out an elaborate interview in order to match you up with a soul mate. The only catch was that you had to bring a soulmate to trade. Matt and I traded each other.

Needless to say, we didn’t go back the next day to see who our “soulmate” was. It was one of those cases of the truth, the joy, the answer being right under your nose. In my case, there was something I had to let go of in order to truly see Matt. I suspect it had something to do with letting go of the fantasy I carried about who I supposed to be with, what he looked like or acted like, some unreachable thing I would likely never find. Being out of my element in this brand new universe allowed me to shed some of that stuff that held me back, and without those walls, there was Matt- handsome, creative, funny and just perfect for me.

Matt looking alarmingly similar to a dragon sculpture, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Canon Elph SD1000

What can you let go of in order to manifest that good thing in your life?

p.s. I will be away for the week shooting an event in Puerto Rico. Wahoo!