Natalie Edkins
Clinical social worker in private practice
‘AfrikaBurn isn’t about losing yourself; it’s about being more deeply yourself. I read Women Who Run With the Wolves, a book about women’s instinctual nature by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, a South American storyteller and Jungian analyst – and it resonated with me. In my normal suburban environment, I feel I live quite a constricted, domesticated, conservative, sanitised life, which has a lot of good things, but I know there is more than that. We get cut off from our wildness, and that’s our force of life, spirituality, connection and truth. I went to the desert to be able to reside in my instinctual nature. It doesn’t mean being chaotic or drunk and disorderly – it’s living closer to the ground.
‘AfrikaBurn has given me the chance to express some of those Jungian archetypes. Two years ago I went as a Japanese geisha, this year as a desert queen. I wanted to feel re gal, powerful and feminine. I love the fact that boundaries are dissolved; it doesn’t matter what age you are, where you’re from, what religion you follow, there’s no measurement of anybody.
‘The gruelling physicality of it is part of the experience. The realisation that we are able to not only manage without all the invented gadgets and creature comforts but also thrive, is powerful. I love the chance to selfactualise at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy – to express yourself while suffering. I love that juxtaposition – to be subtle, magical, fun and sparkly in a harsh desert. It reminded me that we still need magic, play, warmth and openness. There’s not too much magic in doing homework, buying groceries and dealing with a broken geyser, but you’ve got to keep it alive.
‘I live with an even greater respect for human nature – the creativity, ideas, brilliance and generosity are unbelievable. As a therapist and mother, I am deeply responsible, and those are both fulfilling roles. But this was a chance for me to live deeply in my own life. More and more people are intrigued by the Burn because it’s meeting needs that aren’t being met in our ordinary world.’