My three children have, or do, go to a summer camp in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire.  The camp is Merrowvista.  We found this camp when my oldest child, Jake, was in 7th grade.  At the time, he wanted nothing to do with going away to a sleepover camp.  But we thought it would be good for him to gain some independence away from home so we made him go.  The first summer was tough.  I can remember clearly the moment that we walked away from him that first year.  I will never forget it.  After a long hug and many forehead kisses we walked away.  I turned around a few steps later and saw him hanging back from the group, watching us leave.  It nearly killed me.  It was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done.  Leaving him in a strange place with unknown people felt like I was abandoning him.  I cried all the way home.   Jake cried a lot that summer also.  We received many tear-stained letters explaining at great length how miserable he was and how he would try but might not make it to the end.  He did, in fact, make it to the end and went back for four more summers.  Today, at 20, he will tell you that it was the best thing we have ever done for him and helped make him into the person he is today – which is pretty damn awesome by the way.

This past year my other two younger children also went to Merrowvista.  Our departure from these two was not quite as dramatic but tearful just the same.  They too loved their camp experience and are going back again next summer.  I don’t know if they will go as many years as Jake but I can see how their Merrowvista summers have already impacted them.  They are more self-sufficient, more confident and I see each one finding it just a little bit easier to reach out for their own path.  More than that, they are finding their own social conscience and, while I certainly hope that at least a little of this comes from us, I have to also thank Merrowvista.

I am thinking about all this today because Merrowvista has also influenced me in a way that is so very timely.  All these years of attending Merrowvista closing council ceremonies have given me some of the same feelings that I know my children experience daily while there.  Some may say that closing council is a little “cult like”.  I can totally understand this.  There are definitely rituals that must be followed, like responding to discussion with a certain word or phrase, lighting the fire in a certain order that expresses the fourfold axioms, or always walking around the fire counter-clockwise to mirror the rotation of the Earth around the Sun.  I can see how this would seem hokey to some.  But for myself and my family it is an intensely emotional ceremony.  Partially because I see my children participate in something deeply connected to a community and partially because simply being there is like having someone sweep you into their community with open arms.   You cannot leave there without feeling like you belong to something bigger than yourself.

This summer the closing council was even more meaningful.  Without saying so in so many words, the camp director emphasized how truly important it is NOW to be a part of a community.  To support all those in your community.  To initiate positive change in your community.  These are all things that Merrowvista teaches.  It is not only a summer camp where kids can learn to be on their own and play endless soccer, it is a place that shows them that they are strong and capable just as they are.   Campers are inclusive and are taught to embrace their differences.  They are taught that everyone, EVERYONE, is important and has a strength that can better the community and make it stronger.  This year the further message was clear:  “Take this knowledge home with you to your own neighborhoods and communities.  Bring this strength and confidence beyond the walls of the camp and help our society through this difficult and divisive time.  Because it is only with these actions of our children – and of us – taken in our own small worlds that we can step forward in a positive way.”  I think the message simply put was:  just because you are one doesn’t mean that you cannot positively impact many.   And all this starts in our own small communities, one at a time.

I really started thinking about all this when my youngest son, Dylan, was reminiscing about leading the “rising bell”.  At Merrowvista campers rotate speaking at and ringing the rising bell each morning.  It occurred to me that in many places bells are rung to indicate that it is time to wake up, eat breakfast and start your day.  But I found it really meaningful that at Merrowvista this is called the “rising bell”.  Of course in simple terms it means “get up”!  But when taken in the context of the whole philosophy of Merrowvista, I think it also means to “rise up”, be strong, be your best self.  I should note that the idea of being your “best self” is the clearest of Merrovista’s doctrines.  It is the notion that your potential is all yours – no one else can claim it or pretend to dictate it to or for you.   And it is your obligation to yourself and your community, particularly. now, to rise up and live as your best self as much as you can.

The rising bell is ringing loud and clear these days for all of us.  And the message is that now is the time to “rise up and bring your best self to the table” because that is how we will accelerate the positive direction of our communities.  One at a time.