There has been a lot of discussion this week on who can be or should be friends with whom. Can you be friends or friendly with someone who does not share your every thought on every subject?

I think about our vegans at camp: I don’t share their opinion on eating meat and I really like them all: Photo Ben, Waterfront Julia, Finch, and everyone else. We also (I would imagine) have very different views on politics, religion, and many other hot topic areas.

You know what? I don’t care about that because I care about them.

At camp, we get put all that stuff aside and just be together. We ‘close ranks’ and focus on a few things which we can all agree: act gratefully, choose your attitude, build your courage, and be kind. Oh… and have a ton of fun.

That’s it. Nothing else needed.

Am I naive about this? In terms of what’s going on in the media culture right now – yes. In terms of the historical record of humans on our planet? Nope.

We’ve got to stick together, regardless of our differences. In fact, that amazing, improbable combination of ‘difference’ and ‘community’ actually makes us stronger than any other living thing that’s walked, crawled, swum, flew, slithered or grew on Earth. It’s helped us survive and thrive.

Let’s circle up around the campfire. Let’s celebrate our differences while we stick together. Why? Because our lives will be better for it.

Seth Godin recently wrote that, when thinking about memories…

“We don’t actually remember much of what happens. Instead, we get what we’ve rehearsed. 

If we fail to rehearse, the memory will fade.

And if the memory isn’t serving us, we can work to stop rehearsing it.

Choosing what we rehearse is a way of choosing who we will become.

Summer Memories, Fall Rehearsal

What will you remember from this past summer? What will you rehearse in your mind?

Will it be showing courage in the face of missing home or getting to make new friends? Perhaps you’ll rehearse trying something new or making it to the top of the climbing tower or getting up on stage in front of everyone.

Could it be reaching out a hand to someone who needed some support, asking for help when you needed it, or making the decisions about what you ate, what you wore, or how you reacted to everything without your parents close by?

What will you choose to forget, to let fall away? What memory or thought or habit do you want to let go of? Remember: you’ve got that memory, thought or habit; it doesn’t have you.

A long time ago, a teacher of mine relayed a story that touches exactly on this point.

Fred Couples, then the greatest golfer in the world, got my teacher’s attention and asked, “Doc, before I hit a shot, I think of the best shot I’ve ever hit with that club. Is that good?”

“Yes, Freddy. That’s pretty good,” Dr. Rotella replied with a rye grin.

You get a lot of what you rehearse. Make sure you are seeing yourself succeed and then work towards accomplishing that goal. Will it be a perfect result? Certainly not. But, you’ve got a much better shot at making it great than by just ‘winging it.’

Be thoughtful. Remember the good stuff, take the lessons from failure, and battle on. Have a great week!

Many of our families will soon celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the start of the new year for our Jewish friends. In doing a bit of research about the celebration, I’ve found some similarities with camp.

According to Wikipedia.org, Rosh Hashanah is translated as ‘head of the year.’ Did you know the ‘weequahic’ means ‘head of the cove’ in the Lenni-Lenape language?

From a biblical sense, it’s a day of ‘raising a noise’ or ‘shouting.’ Ok… that’s the second similarity. Camp is rarely known to be quiet!

Finally, there is a reason to celebrate. It’s the start of the new year, a time of planting and parties, of feasts and fun. Our Jewish friends rejoice for the start of the new year while we rejoice in gathering around Sly Lake each summer. And, as we know, there is a great deal to celebrate.

Starting Again

The Weequahic year-round team often speak about having two ‘new year’ experiences in the calendar. We enjoy the turn of the year from December 31st to January 1^st like everyone else. It’s a time for thinking over the past several months and planning some new ideas for the future.

And, when the campers head home and the staff have helped us close up shop, there exists a definite ‘restart’ for us once again. We spend time catching our breath, thinking over the past handful of hectic, fun-filled months and planning ways to make camp even better next summer.

There are a lot of opportunities to look back, think and start again. Sometimes, we are excited about the changes we’ve made and the new habits in our lives. And that’s cause for celebration! Other times, we aren’t as happy with the results in which case, it’s cause for celebrating the opportunity to learn. As writer F. Scott Fitzgerald has said:

It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you are proud of, and if you find that you are not, I hope you have the strength to start over.

For those who are celebrating, shanah tovah umetukah! For those who are choosing to look back, celebrate, and start again, I know you’ll have the strength to do so. Have a great week!