"...The long hours spent with them in the forest have enriched my life beyond measure. What I have learned from them has shaped my understanding of human behavior, of our place in nature."- Jane Goodall
It's been two days now since the campers started arriving, and this place has taken on a different air. Up until now, everyone here has been either staff or counselors (with the exception of staff offspring). Now, the dining room hall is filled with young 'uns of all ages, and it is fascinating to observe.
These camps were established in 1924... and that is a long time to build up customs that, while quite normal to those involved in the camp for years, make a newcomer almost feel like an anthropologist dropped into the jungle or rainforest. The 'natives' exhibit various chants throughout meal times (except for Friday nights, which are by candlelight and supposed to be a "quiet" meal). I freely admit that the majority of the chants are quite unintelligible to me... I feel as if I need to bring a linguist with me to decipher this dialect I've discovered. In the meantime, I must search for the Forest Acres lingua franca if I wish to understand the goings-on....
My favorite chant of the first night was one, in which, while all the words were not clear, the intent certainly was: the chant cycled through a long list of years, and people would stand up when the chant reached the year in which they first came to the camp. Some of these people have been participating for a very, very long time here. Yours truly stood up on the last verse... the "two-oh-one-two" chant. The cheers that would resound upon the standing of a particularly popular counselor or staff member, or even a veteran camper with lots of friends was heart-warming.
So why does this matter? What's the point of these chants and customs and traditions? What's the point of any such things in any given group, organization, fraternity, congregation, et al?
It matters because we are made to connect with others... to fellowship. Even a raging introvert like myself (13-0 on the Meyers-Briggs!) has a basic need to connect with other human beings on a regular basis. Sociologists will tell you that is why cultures build mores, customs, and traditions... as touchstones for human contact within the group. It's comforting, surely as much so as when Linus has that blanket in his possession.
Why do we need this so much? Because our Creator made us that way. He made us to desire fellowship with Him... and it washes over into our earthly relationships as well. There is much we will never understand about the Trinity, but the easiest thing to understand about it is that God exists in 3 aspects... and they fellowship with one another in love.
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