Summer Camp Reunion Highlights!
On a sunny windy day in October, a handful of Mindfulness in Motion summer campers gathered with the Benji Project team at the Fort Worden kitchen shelter. Together, we created this incredible mandala, each person contributing both brought and found objects.
As a group, we revisited many of the mindfulness activities we’d practiced at camp, including the 5-4-3-2-1 sensory mindfulness activity, then did an intentional stroll along the beach, stopping occasionally to tune into one of our physical senses. We noticed the sounds of waves near and far, the cries of seabirds, the smells of our bonfire, the chill of the wind from specific directions, the light in the clouds on the horizon, the changing colors of the leaves on the trees above the beach, among many other vivid details that otherwise we may have missed.
Afterward, we gathered inside for a delicious pizza meal and made s’mores over the fire together, experimenting with different roasting techniques (including replacing marshmallows with grapes for a whole new flavor experience).
It was a wonderful, windy day and great opportunity to keep practicing together as well as continue to build community. After all, these mindfulness and self-compassion tools (like all tools) only work if we use them. And it’s always more fun to do that together.
We hope to see many of you at camp this summer! (More details coming later this year, stay tuned!)