If you could… (or) Have you Ever?

If you could spend the summer in one of the most beautiful places in the world (in my opinion), wouldn’t you?  Wouldn’t you also want to take advantage of the opportunity and anything that was offered to you?  I hope that yoHu answered ‘yes’ to both of those questions.  I know that I certainly would.

I ask because, in spending the summer at camp in northern New England (NH/ME), I do truly believe that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Have you ever been someplace where at night it gets so dark that you see stars that you never knew were there?  Have you ever walked across a field back to your cabin looking only at the sky, letting the Milky Way guide you to bed?  Have you ever laid out on a field at night with a bunch of friends and watched the stars looking for satellites and shooting stars?  For that matter, have you ever just laid out on a field at night with a group of your closest friends just because you can?  Have you ever picked up a frisbee or basketball and played a game with someone 10 years (or more) younger than you and just had a good time?  If you could do these things, would you?

If you could walk out your back door and swim in a river, would you do it?  If there were mountains to be climbed that are closer than a stone’s throw from your bed, would you climb them?  If you were spending the summer in moose country would you go out as often as you could to try and see them?  If you had the opportunity to participate in your favorite activities every day with people who also love those activities, what would you choose to do?

These are the questions, the ideas, and the things that I do every day at camp.  People wonder why I love to be here and why I think this is such a magical place to be.  There is so much that is offered here, and most of it is free.  Every clear night when I walk back to my cabin I look at the sky.  Since the beginning of time we have been fascinated by the stars, but most of the time we take them for granted.  Taking the time to remember that there is an amazing world around us is something we often forget to do.

If you have the opportunity to do these kinds of things, would you do them?  We need to remember that the world will still be here if we take a little time to enjoy it or to do something we like or want to do.  You don’t have to go to camp to do many of these things, you might be able to do them in your back yard or in a local park.  Many of them don’t ever cost money, or only require that you get to where you can do these things.