I know that you are there and I am very happy

I know that you are there and I am very happy.

These words graced the entrance to the Clarity campground in the Oak Grove for this year’s Teen Camp (along with a cardboard cutout of a very mischievous looking piggie). Though Teen Camp is almost two months past, I was happy to see that the sign still hangs there during a recent Day of Mindfulness. 

In my mind’s eye, I could see the spread of tents and hear the excited chatter of teens greeting old friends and new tent-mates on arrival day.  As I walked up the hill I remembered the sense of anticipation felt as my fellow volunteers and I led the campers to the Meditation Hall for their orientation, knowing this was the beginning of their journey to looking deeply inward and discovering the miracle of themselves.  Any uncertainties I had about my ability to support the teens in their journey were soothed by the nourishing presence of the monastics walking with us, and then peppered around the Hall like lotus blossoms in a pond. 

On this Day of Mindfulness, dear Sangha, the teens are gone but the memories remain, and that is what moves me to write this letter; I wanted to share with you how participating in Teen Camp has profoundly changed both me and my relationship with Deer Park. I feel deep gratitude at the opportunity to volunteer for Teen Camp, and how it allows me to work side by side with monastics, aspirants, and other volunteers in planting and watering seeds of joy and love.  

Before Teen Camp, I cherished Deer Park and its various spaces (the Oak Grove, the walking paths, the koi pond) as significant to my own growth and healing.  After two years of supporting teens while they learn to touch peace inside themselves and support their peers during camp, Deer Park now holds another layer of meaning for me.  

It was not always easy and I was not always skillful; it was hot and as you know, teens are famous for having minds of their own and sometimes have a hard time following directions.  But watering the seeds of compassion and looking up to the sky to remember the space inside of me (like Sister Le Nghiem advised during a dharma sharing) helped me let go of my frustrations or discomfort and embrace the miracle of the present moment. 

Being part of the collective effort to help make Deer Park a spiritual and material home for those five days in July has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. When I sit in the Hall I not only think back to moments I have been transformed in its golden light, I now also see it filled with teens during the closing 5 Mindfulness Trainings ceremony and the hope, joy, and pride on their faces. When they think back on Camp, I hope they remember that Deer Park is here for them, and that it makes them happy. 

Before I close, I offer a haiku I wrote during Camp that I hope expresses the refuge that is Deer Park:

     The oak trees witness

     Teen hopes and aspirations 

     Volunteers hold space

With deepest gratitude and regard,

Joyful Liberation of the Heart