NOTHING IS SOMETHING

I worked at Valley Mill Camp for twenty-five years; fifteen years at East Camp in Colesville, Md. as a counselor, and ten years at West Camp in Darnestown, Md. as a director.  Both camp properties had a creek running through them.  While it wasn’t one of our scheduled activities the kids and I spent time just walking by and playing in the creek.  On extra hot days we would go and spend time sitting on the bank or walking on the rocks, as we cooled off in the water and under the shade of the trees. We would laugh, splash one another, and often just sit and talk; nothing planned, just spontaneous conversation inspired by our surroundings of peace and quiet.  As I look back at those years, these were the times that lingered most in my memories and it always brings warmth to my soul and a smile to my face.

One of our special events at camp was Parents Day.  This was a day set apart to invite the parents of the campers to come out and enjoy the day with their kids, doing all the activities their kids did during the week; being campers for a day out in the woods.  On one of those days I had an angry father approach me, dressed in dress clothes and two cells phones hanging in cases from his belt.  His son was a Bee; this was our youngest group of kids, 4 and 5 year olds.  They participated in all of the activities at camp, but at a much slower pace.  Their gathering place was a lovely spot by the creek, under the shade of big trees.  In between their activities they would spend some down time, to rest and play together as a group or find something to do on their own, under the supervision of their counselors.

The father approached me, obviously upset, yelling, “I pay a lot of money to have my son go to this camp and I don’t want him wasting time, sitting on the bank of a creek throwing stones and dangling his feet in the water.  I want him doing something, keeping busy, having fun.”  I took him into my office and had him sit down and breathe and relax for a moment or two.  The first thing I asked him was if his son liked coming to camp.  “Oh yes, he loves camp.  He comes home every night tired, but so happy.  He tells his all about the things he did all day…”  He stopped, took a breath and smiled as he looked at me.  “Yes, he loves camp.” 

After a few moments I explained that the philosophy that we hold true here at Valley Mill is that quiet down time by a creek, under the shade of the trees, is doing something, as much as swimming in the pool, kayaking on the lake, and riding on the horses.  Connecting with the natural surroundings is very important for children, especially in these times when those places of rest are becoming extinct; being developed into “useful” places such as housing developments, shopping malls, and multilane highways.  I told him what matters to me is that his son loves being here and grows from all of the experiences that fill his days at camp.

After a few moments I suggested that he might want to go, take off his shoes, roll up his pant legs, and sit for awhile with his son on the banks of the creek, throw some stones, and dangle his feet in the water.  He smiled, shook my hand and left.  “I think I will do just that”, he said as he walked out the door.

Somewhere along the way I was given the message that I must keep busy doing things, that this is how I will grow and advance my state of being.  That is not the message I get when I allow myself the time to do “nothing”; the nothing that is really something and is crucial for the growth of my soul and my true state of being.  That is not the message I get when I sit on the bank of a creek, under the shade of the trees, throwing stones, and dangling my feet in the water.