Do Lunch with a Pine Tree

Pretty amazing what you learn at camp when you're a kid, isn't it?

I just got back from the Audubon Center in Hinkley, MN after hanging out with a bunch of 6th graders during my daughter's learning retreat in the north woods. It was great to get out of the classroom and into the real world for a while. For her and for me.

Not only did I learn to carry a 9-volt battery and some steel wool every time I venture out into the forest from now on, I also got my often-too-tight perspective kicked open by kids who had recently moved to Minnesota from Florida, Togo and Laos.

"First time I've ever seen snow," said the kid from Florida.

"Why do you want to spend three hours outside in the cold?" asked the one from Togo.

"The refugee camps in Laos aren't like this one," said the girl from Laos.

And onwards they pressed. On the high ropes - learning to beat their PS2 addiction 20 feet above the ground. On the survivor trail – learning to use that 9-volt and steel wool to get a camp fire blazing. On the wolf trail – learning that the Alpha wolf is just as vital to the pack as the Omega wolf.

So many grew so much. And man, did they teach me a lot. Just like the many folks at ChartHouse who have camp-counselor backgrounds, including John Christensen himself, the creator of The FISH! Philosophy and several folks who helped create FISH! For Schools. No wonder the ChartHouse conference room is in fact a cozy, comfortable lodge complete with a fireplace for heartfelt conversations.

What I got on my trip was that life is like camp, isn't it? It just lasts way longer, with a larger community of people (mostly older!) and a ton more challenges  ... like facing stuff you don't want to do, people you don't want to talk to and ORT you do want to leave behind (ok, that last one's weird, but true!)

Henry David Thoreau figured it out in Walden:

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch or an old acquaintance among the pines."

Now those are the appointments I've got to get on my calendar more often.

Comments

[peggy]

As a young girl scout- growing up into a Girl Scout Councelor- some of my best memories were of walking through the woods, following the creek and teaching the younger girls.

I will never forget what camp was like for me, or for them.It was truly some of the greatest times in my life.

I swear, I still remember the smell of the fire, how the leaves sounded as they crackled under my feet,and the sound of the songs that were sang...

(of course, we always tried to scare each other as well, by saying we swore we just saw "Jason" and then sing the theme song...surrounded by the woods usually made this seem realistic)

[Papamintz]

Couldn't agree more.

Camp is a condensed, compacted, intensified version of real-life. The joys are more joyful, the pains are more painful - and yes, it is all too short-lived.

If camp taught me anything (and I believe it taught - and continues to teach - me a lot), it's that the secret to happiness is diving in to life. It's fun to watch a game of Ultimate Frisbee, but it's potentially life changing to catch the winning goal.

And that's real-life, not just camp. Camp is a place to practice, to find out how much more you can do than you realized. But if you didn't go to camp, you've got to practice in real time.

Here's to diving in!

[Hip Deep]

WOW! RIGHT-ON! Self-knowledge is built from personal experiences that happen when you’re in the right environment, at the right time, with the right group. We can create the environment, the “right group” feel for people. It’s series of personal and communal experiences that shape us as people and go on shaping them for as long as we live.

We all need a place, a time, an experience that is a lift-off. Unique, fun, wild, meaningfully deep, unpredictable situations. Something to look forward to that is more than empty rah-rah. A place an experience that sets us on a path so we are fully alive in the world, and all that it presents us. Ready to go for today, here and now, as well as what each of us can still become.

This place, this experience is a something that becomes home to a spirit.

This spirit is about (re)building consciousness, strengthening self-awareness, and community. Strengthening all sorts of stuff. It is where people become committed to the unity of people AND EQUALLY be committed to actively participating in building a better world. The vital act is the act of participation!

It is inclusive! No one is left out! It doesn’t have an elitist sting, nor is it bland or predictable. It is ultimately cool. People want to be involved because it is belonging to something RIGHTEOUS and COOL and RIGHT-ON, RIGHT-ON! Knowing that your place is secure and growing and creative in this world is what gives meaning and spice to life.

When people are involved and enjoying themselves, they pay attention. And, when they pay attention, we can communicate together, be motivated and inspired to be much more, umm, happy!

These are not lofty or overly precious goals. They are very practical and attainable. They are, at this time, intangible, the things of magic. We are the magicians, and we are capable of building the right RIGHT-ON atmosphere. Learning without struggling to learn.