My last two weekends have been especially full. Let me tell you about the first one.
The last weekend of May I joined five other men at our old summer camp site for a volunteer work (and play) weekend. I say old summer camp site, because it's not the same camp, only the same island.
It was Camp Kawagama, near Dorset, Ontario, on beautiful Kawagama lake, and it was very significant in my life. I spent eleven summers there, from the time I was a first year camper at 7 years old, to first year counsellor at 17. And then the camp shut down and was purchased by a non-profit organization who formed Camp Moorelands. Camp Kawagama was a full-service camp for priveleged (mostly) Jewish kids - by full service I mean all the activities you could shake a stick at - canoeing, swimming, water-skiing, horseback riding (!), incredible drama productions, canoe tripping and of course, lots of social activity as well. I absolutely loved camp! I used to say I lived at camp and only visited Toronto for the ten months between summers. I formed deep friendships there, some of which have lasted over 40 years. I met my first wife there, and we were teenage sweethearts. I learned so many skills, including canoeing, horseback riding, drama, baseball, basketball, canoe tripping, sailing, water-skiing, music and lots more. And now as I look back, I realize that the natural beauty, quiet and serenity made a deep impact on me, and provided some of my strongest early inclinations towards spiritual seeking. Nature is the door to silencing the mind, and even at a young age I was inspired by that silence.
We had a great weekend, a full day of work building twelve new benches for the dining hall, with time for swimming, eating and drinking, reminiscing, and connecting with the wonderful people who run the camp now. It is an incredible place that offers kids from inner city environments the opportunity to experience summer camp for the first time. The staff are part counsellors, part social workers, and the mission of the camp is to help children who have come from difficult situations to build social skills and to give and receive respect, while learning how to do things we take for granted, like swimming, canoeing, arts & crafts, sailing, windsurfing, baseball, basketball, tennis, and more. I would love to do more volunteer work there, and make it a yearly event.
I am very connected to Gabriola, one of the Gulf Islands in B.C. Being on Kawagama Island last week really made me realize that it was my first "Gabriola" and it planted the seeds for my connection with natural beauty, which always heals my soul. If you would like to check out the fabulous work being done there now, visit http://www.moorelands.org/wilderness-camp.php.
