Matt Hogan's Blog

On Gifting

Published on September 11, 2022

Many people don’t do it right.

Upon receiving a gift, many will try and reciprocate with something of equal-ish value.

While it might feel like this is what’s fair and rebalances a previously unbalanced situation… what it actually is is a misunderstanding.

The purpose of a gift isn’t to barter.

If the person wanted to barter, then they would’ve (should’ve) made that clear from the onset (i.e. “I’ll give you this book for that $15 gift card).

The purpose of a gift is to receive back not a material item, but an emotion in return.

When I give you a gift, I’m after the look on your face; I’m after the warmth; I’m after the liveliness/gratitude/joy that it might bring you.

And what many people don’t understand is that: what you return in barter, you take away in emotion.

Imagine on Christmas morning, after each present was given, the receiver pulling out their wallet and paying you back exactly the price of each gift.

…It would defeat the whole point!

Gifting shouldn’t be seen as an obligation (to give back what’s been given); it should be seen as an opportunity to exchange emotion.

Because ultimately, while material items might seem like the goal, emotion is what we’re always really after anyways.

And gifting is one of the most beautiful ways to evoke that warm, loving emotion that fills us up so quickly—both when giving and receiving.

Don’t rob someone of that opportunity to fill up by returning in barter what they gift graciously.

Be a good receiver and give them in emotion what their gift (or effort) genuinely provides.

Dance Uncaringly

Published on September 10, 2022

The music was banging. The vibes were insane. Seemingly everybody was entranced and moving hypnotically.

…And what was I doing? Hesitating and looking on from the edge.

This was one the first, important realizations I had while at Burning Man.

For some reason or another (or for many reasons), I was confronted with a level of self-consciousness that I didn’t realize I had.

I was so consumed thinking about what everybody else thought of me and how I danced that I resisted dancing at all—even in the midst of complete and total strangers who I’d likely never see again!

This certainly wasn’t an innate belief and was something I must’ve (mistakingly) learned along the way. Maybe from comparisonism, a comment from a person in the past, a story I was telling myself about how I had to be or act… or a combination of all of the above.

It was only after I confronted this hesitation, sat with it for a few minutes, and unpacked the feeling in full that I was finally able to let it go.

“What the hell are you doing thinking so much?!” I thought.

And I locked my bike, duck taped my ego’s mouth, and let my body do whatever the hell it wanted as I surrendered to the pull of the bass and sway of the crowd.

P.s. I’ll be sharing pictures from Burning man on my IG. The first has finally been posted. More to come :)

Thinking Of You [Poem]

Published on September 9, 2022

I think of you sometimes
And sometimes I smile
And sometimes I fall
Sometimes I channel it
And sometimes I withdrawal
Better—I suppose
Than not having anything
To move or respond to
at all.

Burning Away Everything You Know

Published on September 8, 2022

If you burned away everything you knew about yourself… what would remain?

This was one of the most remarkable questions I was asked while at Burning Man.

Worth reiterating: if everything I knew about myself…

my past experiences
my relationships
my occupation
my education
my joy/pain

…was burned away—what would I have left inside?

Before you read my answer, I encourage you to pause here and think about how you would answer this question…

Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re done…

The answer I came up with (which didn’t come quickly or easily) was everything I had when I was born:

my curiosity
my liveliness
my innocence
my immediacy
my compassion

Which made me think: a lot of what we carry with us in identity/ experience/ education is worth burning.

Not everything, of course, because there is a lot in identity/ experience/ and education that we carry that’s worth protecting.

But, there’s a lot that extinguishes our curiosity; deadens our liveliness; contaminates our innocence; removes our immediacy; and kills our compassion.

And that, is where the real inner work begins.

Not in trying to add to what’s already inside… but in working to subtract—to burn away—everything that’s corrupting what’s already there.

How would you answer this question? I’d love to hear. Simply send a reply :)

Characteristics of Freedom

Published on September 7, 2022

If you can’t:

Sit quietly
Sleep peacefully
Dance uncaringly
Love unconditionally
Create wholeheartedly

…You aren’t free.

No matter what your work title, bank account, or social media feed might otherwise suggest.

On People and Art

Published on September 6, 2022

“Take more pictures of the people than the art.”
—Advice given to me by a long-time Burner

At first, I didn’t get it.

The art was one of the main attractions.

Artists from all over the world would go to incredible lengths to create, transport, and feature their art in the middle of the desert—and the pull to capture images of them felt much stronger to me than the pull to capture images of the people.

It wasn’t until I left Burning Man, got cell-phone service, and saw an article featured on my Google search page: The Art of Burning Man 2022—that I finally understood what I think that experienced Burner meant.

When you take a picture of art—it’s an image of a completed, unchanging piece.

A picture of a person, however, becomes a piece of art in and of itself.

It captures an image of an ever changing being in one exact moment in time that nobody else will ever be able to capture.

This is not to say that taking photographs of art isn’t an art form in and of itself. Nor is it to say that taking photographs of people is somehow “superior.”

It’s merely an observation that struck me as I was immersed in an other-worldly society that was exploding with creativity at every turn of the eye.

And as I reflect back on this advice more and look back on the pictures I’ve taken over the years—it rings true…

Of all the art I’ve photographed, people are the art that always seem to be the most interesting to look back on.

P.s. Here’s a LIVE re-cap of my Burning Man experience.

Gone To Burning Man!

Published on August 27, 2022

From Sunday (8/28/22) to Sunday (9/4/22), I’ll be off grid.

That means, you won’t get daily emails from me until I get back on the grid on Monday (9/5/22).

Rest assured, I’ll still be writing daily—it’ll just take on a more primitive form (that’s right folks… pen and paper).

And when I get back, I’ll share what words made it to paper during what I’m expecting to be a wild, curious, mysterious, serendipitous, and nothing-short-of-inspirational week.

Don’t know what Burning Man is? I can barely explain it. But, this video does a pretty solid job.

Thank you to each of you for your ongoing support. I look forward to reconnecting when I get back. ♥

P.s. If you’re feeling generous, you can send a little love via coffee here. This trip will definitely require copious amounts of caffeine. Cheers :)

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