Summer Camp

Summer means many things to people. For kids, it means more time to play, to ride their bikes, to go to the beach, to hang out with their friends, and a chance to stay up later into the night. The highlight of summer just might include one of the greatest experiences a kid can have--going to summer camp. While going to camp can mean many different things these days, most experiences of going to camp involve spending more time outside in nature than a child would spend in their normal day-to-day routine. There is something truly re-creative that happens for kids when they spend time outside. Running through a field, catching frogs by a pond, hiking in the woods, climbing a tree, paddling a canoe or kayak, swimming in a lake, creating a special craft project, playing capture the flag, or sleeping outside in a tent are memories that can last a life time. If you went to summer camp as a child, I imagine you know just what I am talking about.

This past week three different parents have told me about how much fun their kids have had at camp this summer. Each of them then added, "I wish there was summer camp for parents!" I imagine that each of them was longing for something that would be as re-creative for their souls as camp had been for the souls of their children.

It might not be possible for we adults to actually go off to summer camp any more, but it certainly is possible for us to create experiences for ourselves that involve breaking out of our normal day-to -day routines and spending some re-creative time in nature. Perhaps we, too, can go for a walk in the woods, go on a boat ride, play a game, or enjoy a swim. We might also take a bike ride, go for a walk on the beach, create a piece of art, go fishing, or cook some marshmallows around an evening campfire.

I don't think it is a coincidence that many summer vacation plans involve some combination of the activities listed above. Perhaps vacations are really a way for adults try to recapture the childhood experience of going to camp. We adults most likely will not be able to return to our favorite summer camp from childhood, but we can try to create moments today that capture some of the freedom and fun that camps provided us when we were kids.

With this in mind, the last three mornings I have gone for an early morning run along the shores of Lake Michigan before my work day in Chicago. The experience of the rising sun warming my face along with the sound of the gently breaking waves has been as re-creative for my soul as the running has been for my body, much the way I felt at camp as a child.

Do you ever experience summer camp moments in your life? How might you create more moments that are re-creative for your soul in the days that are left of this summer? You may not be able to get away for a true vacation, but instead maybe you may be able to enjoy an hour here and there spending some re-creative time outdoors right where you are. You may not catch a frog, climb a tree, or play capture the flag, but doing something in nature, something outside of your normal routine, is sure to be good for your emotional and spiritual wellness.

Reverse Mentoring

I am pleased to be writing this week's column from the campus of Villanova University in Philadelphia. I am here with our Living Compass Faith & Wellness ministry at "EYE 2014," otherwise known as the Episcopal Youth Event. This event, held every three years, attracts over 1,200 high school youth, youth leaders, and clergy from every state in the country. The energy and enthusiasm of this number of young people all in one place is highly contagious. At our opening worship this morning, the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, canon for vitality in the Diocese of Long Island, delivered a Spirit-filed message that has set the tone for our entire four days together. My favorite quote from her message to the teens, which was greeted with loud cheers, was, "We've got some great youth programs in the Episcopal Church, where adults teach and form young people, but I think it's time for some reverse mentoring. We elders can nurture and teach, but frankly we could use your wisdom and experience on the mission frontier."

While I have always enjoyed learning from those who are younger, this concept of reverse mentoring was a new one for me. I did a little online research and found that thebusiness community has embraced this concept for some time. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, was a strong proponent of reverse mentoring. Alan Weber, co-founder of FastCompany, describes both the need and the benefit of reverse mentoring in this way: "It's a situation where the old fogies in an organization realize that by the time you're in your forties and fifties, you're not in touch with the future the same way the young twenty-something's. They come with fresh eyes, open minds, and instant links to the technology of our future."

While here at EYE14 I am surrounded by hundreds of adult volunteers who have traveled here from all around the country to serve as mentors to the youth, many of them taking a week's vacation to do so. When thanking these adults for giving of themselves to be here for the youth, many say back to me, "No need to thank me. I get more back from this than I give and I learn so much from them." They are participating in reverse mentoring with out even knowing it!

So what youth, or what person a generation or two younger than you, might you let serve as a reverse mentor to you right now? Is there a child, a niece or nephew, a grandchild, or a younger colleague at work from whom you could learn something new? At a minimum they might teach or explain to you something from their world, something they are very comfortable with, but with which you are unfamiliar. More importantly, though, young people can help you look at something in your life with fresh energy and a fresh perspective. If we open ourselves to reverse mentoring, one benefit that is sure to give us a boost is their unbridled enthusiasm and hopefulness, which is so highly contagious. I know, because I am catching it from the over 1,000 youth that I am honored to be with this week. I encourage you to connect with a youth in your life soon and catch some of their enthusiasm and hopefulness, too.

Declaration of Dependence

I hope your Fourth of July weekend is filled with cookouts, friends, family, fireworks, and all the best this holiday has to offer. In addition to enjoying all of these things myself, there is one additional thing I like to do on the Fourth of July. Each year I like to reread the Declaration of Independence. One of the things that I am always reminded of when I read the Declaration of Independence is that the title of this document reveals only half of the story. Independence from Britain is clearly asserted, but the writing goes further, spelling out exactly what this new experiment in democracy would be dependent upon. This document is also a "declaration of dependence" in that it clearly states its reliance on certain core beliefs and values: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The writers make it clear here and throughout the document that freedom is dependent upon equality and the right to create a fulfilling life.

I find this assertion of core beliefs and values inspiring, because we live in a time when it seems many people can tell you more easily what they don't believe in than what they do believe in. We live in a time when people define themselves more by what they are independent from than what they are dependent upon. This, of course, is natural when a person is questioning beliefs they have held and are in a period of transition, but I sense that many people end up getting stuck in this 'in between' stage, thus having a hard time articulating the core beliefs and values that their lives are built upon.

So in light of this experiment in democracy that we celebrate this weekend, allow me to suggest an experiment we each can try. Take out a sheet of paper and declare on paper your personal beliefs and values, those that you depend on to shape your life. Declare with boldness and clarity what you want your life to be dependent upon. Invite family or friends to do this with you, if you wish, and talk with one another about your core beliefs and values.

Take your time with this, and have fun with it. Don't worry about how beautiful your language is--just focus on naming the essential truths upon which you strive to build your life. When you are done, put your "John Hancock'" on the bottom and post it on your refrigerator so you can look back on it for guidance, just as we do today with the document our founders wrote in Philadelphia all those years ago. '      Note: I am on vacation this week and so am sharing an updated Fourth of July column from several years ago.

Happy Fourth of July to all of you!

Redeeming Mistakes

It's not polite to laugh at other's mistakes.  Laughing with others regarding the kind of mistakes we all make is, on the other hand,  a whole different matter. When we laugh with others regarding our mistakes, we are laughing in solidarity as fellow members of the imperfect human race. It is in the spirit of laughing with that I share with you the mistake captured in the photograph above.  This diploma was presented to approximately thirty graduates of the prestigious Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing  Communications at Northwestern University in Chicago.  If you look closely at the name of the school on the diploma you will see that the word "Integrated" is missing a letter, and it is hard to miss the irony of a school of journalism making a spelling mistake on a very important document.  We can laugh with the person who made the typographical mistake in full hopes that their colleagues can find some humor in it too, knowing that it can so easily be corrected.

“To err is human; to forgive, divine,” said Alexander Pope, an 18th century English Poet.  These are good words to remember whenever we make a mistake.  They are even better words to remember when someone we know and love makes a mistake.

I like to think that the Divine takes things even further when we make mistakes.  I believe that not only does God forgive mistakes, but I also believe that God has a way of redeeming mistakes.  To redeem a mistake is to actually turn the mistake into something better than what might have happened if the mistake had never occurred.   I remember a particular Sunday I was confused and mistakenly thought that my colleague was the one assigned to preach at that morning's services.  When the time for the sermon came and I realized that in fact I was the scheduled preacher, I quickly had to move past my confusion and anger at myself and gather my wits. I decided to simply acknowledge my mistake and create a conversation with the people present by asking them what thoughts and concerns were on their minds that day.  Several people shared inspiring and joyful stories, and others expressed concerns, allowing us to know each other a little bit better and strengthening our community in the process.  This  would have never happened if I had realized that it was my week  to prepare a sermon.

The redeeming factor of the typographical error on a diploma given at graduation is that it simply serves as a great reminder for the graduates, and for the rest of us, that as we move and live out in the world embarking on careers and developing a life, that no matter how smart we are, no matter how hard we work, no matter how far we get in life, we will always make mistakes.  That is a given.  What is not a given is the ability to not take things too seriously, and being able to laugh and forgive ourselves and others when mistakes occur.  That is not a given, but it is a choice.  It is also a choice to go a step further and participate with the Divine in transforming mistakes into new leanings and possibilities.  Again, the choice is ours.

To be able to do make these choices on a consistent basis is truly to be able to “itegrate” spiritual and emotional wellness into our everyday lives!

**Thanks to my colleague Megan Krings for calling this story to my attention. 

Little Free Libraries

The beginning of summer means many things, but probably most commonly it is a season when people think about fun and recreation. While there are countless ways to recreate, one popular pastime this time of year is reading. This pastime is so popular that in fact there are countless lists and recommendations out there for your "summer reading" pleasure. Whether you read on the beach, at the lake, your local park, or just sitting by an open window there is something wonderful about the rhythms of reading a book in summer. As you consider acquiring a book for your summer reading, I am delighted to inform you about a new option of where to find your next summer read, one of which you may not be aware. In addition to your local library and your local bookstore, there may be an additional option right on the very block where you live. This new option is known as a "Little Free Library". These "Little Free Libraries", whose motto is always, "Take a book, return a book," are springing up everywhere and as you learn more about this new trend, you will understand why.

Allow me to share a little history about the origin of this new offering. In 2009, Todd Bol, of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model, seen in the photo above, of a schoolhouse in honor of his mother, a retired teacher. His mother loved reading and as a tribute to her he filled his handmade structure with books and placed it on a post in his front yard. He put a sign on the structure that said, "Free books" and it was an instant hit with his neighbors. They loved borrowing the books and soon found that they also loved the community it created as neighbors spontaneously met at the this local, impromptu library.

The idea of creating more of these libraries caught on when in 2010 Rick Brooks, a youth and community development educator from the University of Wisconsin in Madison heard of about Bol's idea. Brooks and Bol together dreamed of the potential impact of this new grass roots effort, to promote both reading and community wellness simultaneously. Just four years later, what started out with a few "little boxes of books," has now grown to over 15,000 "Little Free Libraries" across the globe, each one as unique as the collection of books it contains. You can learn more about the latest developments in what is now an international movement by visiting their website www.LittleFreeLibraries.org. Be sure to check out the map section of their website to find a Little Free Library in your neighborhood or perhaps you will want to visit the section that tells you how to build one yourself!

There are so many wellness aspects that come to mind when I reflect on this fun phenomenon, but I can only touch a on few briefly in the context of this column. Reading itself, of course, nourishes wellness on so many levels--emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social. It stimulates the heart, soul, and mind all at once. Add to this the experience of community, of neighbors meeting neighbors and sharing both ideas and books with one another and you have an unbeatable wellness combination.

My church has a "Little Free Library" in front of it, as does my neighbor's house directly across the street, both created by folks who wanted to share the love of reading with others. There are several more within a few blocks of where I live, all of which are home made by someone as well. Perhaps that's the most inspiring part of this whole story. Every one of the over 15,000 Little Free Libraries was created by someone who simply wanted to sow seeds of literacy and community in their little corner of the world.

This is exactly how we promote wellness in the world as well. We sow seeds in our little corner of the world, one thought, one word, one deed, one book, one person, one conversation, and one Little Free Library at a time.