I attended a rather amazing party celebrating NYE. It was a free zoom based event called “New Year’s Eve.rywhere” hosted by the Co-RealityCollective (CRC). I was notified about the event because I had attended last year’s (2020) virtual Burningman event, spending time in the Sparkleverse. This event was connected to that in some way that I don’t quite understand. Apparently CRC hosts various on-line parties, perhaps in support of good causes, or not. “The” party was not actually a party, it was more of a bunch of marathon party’s held in more or less the same virtual space. There were seven or eight separate “rooms”, each with its own set of hosts and activities. I chose the one that was about new year’s everywhere. It was something like 26 hours long, spending time at each of the time zones to party and ring in the new year at that point in time as “new year” raced at about 1000 miles per hour around the globe (that is about how fast the edge of “dawn” moves in the middle latitudes). The party and celebrations were relatively “tame” by most people’s fantasies of BurningMan. Mostly talking, sharing stories, sharing songs, a little music, and generally friendly times together with strangers from around the world.

Each time zone had local tour guides that usually talked a bit about their location, and a bit more about their local NYE traditions. We learned about food, drinks, costumes, and some interesting traditions such as the first-foot tradition associated with Vikings, good luck, as well as food and drink. The attendees changed as the day went along, peaking at each NYE celebration in one location but then moving on to the next with mostly new people, but also those of us that hung in their and moved with the flow. Old people, children, young folks – they were all represented. Not so many children since it was late at night for those in the time zone.

I found it charming, mildly fun, a little interesting – but it took me awhile to warm up to what became a big epiphany for me. I realized that something important was happening, at least to me. I was watching all of these different people; different accents, different word usage, different cloths, different traditions, different skin color – everything seemed different. That was until it came over me that everyone was just the same when they were “looking out” of their bodies at the world. We all feel the same inside, we all feel the same about what it is like to look our of eyes, to taste things, to feel a little (or a lot) drunk.

I was odd because I have “known” this for as long as I can remember, but I suppose it was an intellectual knowing. Watching the party creep around the world make it very clear that there is something very much the same everywhere. Sure, we all have different ideas, all have different agreements about what is important and true, our minds do all sorts of different things when sorting, storing and interpreting the massive flow of “data” (experiences), but while that is true – there is a common feeling of what it is like to be on the “inside” looking out. I can’t exactly describe what I was experiencing, but it has to do with a visceral understanding that if I were to somehow be “transported” into any of these people it would have felt very much at home. There would be a lot of interesting things to explore, but beyond that I would recognize almost all of it. My Buddhist friends talk about responding to others understanding that they are “just like me.” I knew that, but sitting and watching the flow from place to place brought it home in ways that even traveling around the world hadn’t done.

Before I forget – Happy New Year to you all. I sure hope it is better with regard to sickness and death, financial security and anxiety – but my experience has been that there were many good things that came to me because of the change in pace and a shift in understanding what it is important and what is not. I would like to maintain some of that even after we have moved forward and look back at the time of covid. May you all be healthy, wealthy and wise throughout the coming year.