Just a little glimpse of how much plaid love there is at camp and how much love there is in general at good old Camp Harkness!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
bite-sized pieces
I just got home from camp this morning after waking up at 3:30am eastern time to catch my 6am flight. I'm pretty wiped out and haven't had much energy for anything other than sleeping and picture organzing, which is quite a task since I have over 2000 pictures.
Even though I go to camp year after year capturing it in images and video clips is nearly impossible to do. I try to bring as much of it back with me so that in those long winter months when the sun feels like its never out and the chaos of camp feels far away, I can still relive the moments I've experienced with dear friends.
But no matter how hard I try, those videos don't capture the soul of camp; its like C.S. Lewis wrote about his experiences of joy: whenever you search for it, its always a step ahead, eluding you with hopes of it being just around the next bend. Camp is like that. If you try to conjure up emotions that you once had because you're afraid of loosing them, you end up missing out on the actual moments and experiences in front of you.
Because thats what camp is: a series of profound life-altering moments. Its also why camp is so exhausting because no matter what is going on around you, there's bound to be something profound happening in the most mundane of tasks. But if you actually try to discover it directly, you end up missing out on both the moment and the discovery. You have to allow each experience to seep into your heart and mind and soul and let it stew there for a few days to years before you begin to understand the significance of brushing someone's teeth, pouring them a glass of juice, cutting up pancakes into bite-sized pieces, tucking the blankets in around them at night. Even then I still find myself wondering at the privilege of being able to experience so much in such short bursts of time. How can I ever fully utilize the tremendous gift I've been given in working at Camp Harkness, how can I ever fully explain the lessons I've learned? Are there any other people who understand, and can I ever help anyone to understand who doesn't?
I want so badly to live with camp in my heart: its images and moments and memories a place where God has spoken so clearly and yet so indirectly that I spend the rest of my life discovering how each of these gifts has shaped me into who I am and who I become.
Even though I go to camp year after year capturing it in images and video clips is nearly impossible to do. I try to bring as much of it back with me so that in those long winter months when the sun feels like its never out and the chaos of camp feels far away, I can still relive the moments I've experienced with dear friends.
But no matter how hard I try, those videos don't capture the soul of camp; its like C.S. Lewis wrote about his experiences of joy: whenever you search for it, its always a step ahead, eluding you with hopes of it being just around the next bend. Camp is like that. If you try to conjure up emotions that you once had because you're afraid of loosing them, you end up missing out on the actual moments and experiences in front of you.
Because thats what camp is: a series of profound life-altering moments. Its also why camp is so exhausting because no matter what is going on around you, there's bound to be something profound happening in the most mundane of tasks. But if you actually try to discover it directly, you end up missing out on both the moment and the discovery. You have to allow each experience to seep into your heart and mind and soul and let it stew there for a few days to years before you begin to understand the significance of brushing someone's teeth, pouring them a glass of juice, cutting up pancakes into bite-sized pieces, tucking the blankets in around them at night. Even then I still find myself wondering at the privilege of being able to experience so much in such short bursts of time. How can I ever fully utilize the tremendous gift I've been given in working at Camp Harkness, how can I ever fully explain the lessons I've learned? Are there any other people who understand, and can I ever help anyone to understand who doesn't?
I want so badly to live with camp in my heart: its images and moments and memories a place where God has spoken so clearly and yet so indirectly that I spend the rest of my life discovering how each of these gifts has shaped me into who I am and who I become.
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