Improv has it all figured out...
As a New Yorker, I am accustomed to living in what are relatively small living quarters. I grew up in a rural town in Florida, with a back yard and access to woods and creeks, and when I moved to New York in 1998, my building had more people in it than the population of my town, all stacked on top of each other. I love where I live and all the benefits of a big city, but getting to travel to Maine each summer is a gift. Along with the incredible theater, fun activities, and beautiful nights of star-gazing, summer in Maine brings with it a sense of openness and ease, a sense of spaciousness.
I have been reflecting on spaciousness as I prepare for this summer. It seems crucial, as this summer is a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel that has felt very closed-in for some. Yes, the Great Lawn and the breeze at the top of the hill bring a sense of open space, but there is also an internal spaciousness that Ghostlight provides me each summer as well.
During the year, campers and staff alike balance the "prescribed" and the "desired" every day. Homework, tests, reading, rehearsal, practice, no matter in-person or virtual, begin to fill not only their calendars but their minds as well. Sometimes it can result in stress, or if they are like me, it results in habits of "busyness." At camp, we allow campers to focus on fewer things each day. Classes, activities, and rehearsal all support and complement each other. The energy of one flows directly and seamlessly into the next. By anchoring our day in the four Ghostlights, connections between a cappella class and music rehearsal, or arts and crafts and Roses and Thorns, are easier to make. The intentional connection-making supports presence and gratitude practices by allowing campers to invest fully in the task at hand without worry about things undone or lingering.
A natural sense of spaciousness happens internally when "switching gears" becomes irrelevant.
Furthermore, we empower and train our staff to intentionally encourage campers to slow down, ground themselves in the moment, and release anxieties and tensions through the spaciousness of "yes." Yes. It is a spacious word.
Recall a moment when you asked a question of someone. Regardless of the answer, you received at that time, imagine the answer was yes. In doing this, I can feel my whole body lean forward, propelled into something more significant than the moment before. Yes forms a connection between the person asking and the person answering. The opposite of yes pulls me backward and disconnects me from the present moment and the future possibility.
A spacious "yes" doesn't always mean a literal "Yes." But, in looking at how we can frame any response through this lens, we empower our staff to look deeper into any question to see what is at the heart of it. "Yes" may take the form of, "Why do you ask?" Or "Can you tell me a little bit more?" It encourages us to respond to campers out of curiosity rather than fear or urgency.
For campers, practicing the spaciousness of yes empowers them to ask themselves questions with anticipation rather than fear and embrace their sense of wonder about the world. It shares with them the message that more incredible things are possible when we risk it all to form a connection with another person.
The power and spaciousness of "yes" form the bonds of our community at camp. That is, underneath it all, our mission.