The Florida Family Rainbow Gathering
This year at the Florida Family gathering we decided to stay in the Hopkins prairie campground and avoid the parking lot scene. This had it good and bad side.
On the good side, there was no A camp to deal with. We mostly had the campground to ourselves with the exception of one other family who had a little 4 year old boy named Zen. Him and Charles became fast friends quick and spent their days pulling each other around in the wagon and playing all the games little boys love to play. I can't think of a better playground for two little boys then the woods and I don't think they could either. With the exception of one day when Charles spiked a fever and complained of a headache, they were inseparable for the time that Charles was there. Some tylenol which Zen's mom, along with some ice cream once the tylenol had taken effect fixed the fever and the weekend went on as planned.
The bad side of course is that all the hippies were a couple of miles away from us. There was no one to feed pb&j sandwiches to and no one stopping by for coffee in the morning. Kip and I both missed that alot. Of course I miss camping inside and every year I think this is the year I am going to hike in and stay in but I never do. My camper is too comfy and that backpack is heavy!
So, we hiked the back trail into the gathering on a daily basis to hang out in the kitchens, at main circle or in the trading circle. I learned to make a basket or a hat out of a palm frawn on the side of the trail just past trade circle one afternoon. I thought,this is what a gathering is to me, the opportunity to learn something you had no idea existed. I hiked my hammock in and Maura and I laid in it to listen to the drum circle that Kip loves so much. The best was when Dan brought me a cup of steaming chocolate coffee to the hammock. Hot coffee delivered to your hammock - this is also what a gathering is all about. It is learning and giving and getting and never knowing what is around the next corner because there are no leaders giving directions and posting agendas.
Oh everyone has an agenda, even if it is with the best of intentions. This is one of the things I have had to come to terms with over the years of gathering. Gathering is alot of work, especially if you plug in and do things like set up a kitchen, you only do that if you have an agenda. It might be that it makes you happy to feed people as is the case of my friend Pam. She handed out sandwiches at a gathering a couple of years ago and while it sure made alot of hungry hippies happy to get a pb&J or a bologna sandwich, she benefited as well because she loves to feed people and her heart was happy. She handed out sandwiches for hours, exhausting herself. You just don't do that if you aren't getting something back, it is human nature.
Anyway, without agendas everyone is free to do whatever comes naturally and best, so only the best happens. Just think about when your calendar is full, it might be all fun stuff but perhaps an activity comes when you are not up to it, you can't give it your all. Perhaps next week's activity would suit your mood better this week and this week's activity would suit your mood better next week. Because of the agenda of society, you have to do this week's activity this week even if it isn't getting your best.
I can see how this free thinking could wreak havoc on a large society so intuned with the clock and calendar but for a few weeks a year, time doesn't matter. What you need is somehow in your path when you need it in the middle of the woods. And that my friend is the magic of gathering.
On the good side, there was no A camp to deal with. We mostly had the campground to ourselves with the exception of one other family who had a little 4 year old boy named Zen. Him and Charles became fast friends quick and spent their days pulling each other around in the wagon and playing all the games little boys love to play. I can't think of a better playground for two little boys then the woods and I don't think they could either. With the exception of one day when Charles spiked a fever and complained of a headache, they were inseparable for the time that Charles was there. Some tylenol which Zen's mom, along with some ice cream once the tylenol had taken effect fixed the fever and the weekend went on as planned.
The bad side of course is that all the hippies were a couple of miles away from us. There was no one to feed pb&j sandwiches to and no one stopping by for coffee in the morning. Kip and I both missed that alot. Of course I miss camping inside and every year I think this is the year I am going to hike in and stay in but I never do. My camper is too comfy and that backpack is heavy!
So, we hiked the back trail into the gathering on a daily basis to hang out in the kitchens, at main circle or in the trading circle. I learned to make a basket or a hat out of a palm frawn on the side of the trail just past trade circle one afternoon. I thought,this is what a gathering is to me, the opportunity to learn something you had no idea existed. I hiked my hammock in and Maura and I laid in it to listen to the drum circle that Kip loves so much. The best was when Dan brought me a cup of steaming chocolate coffee to the hammock. Hot coffee delivered to your hammock - this is also what a gathering is all about. It is learning and giving and getting and never knowing what is around the next corner because there are no leaders giving directions and posting agendas.
Oh everyone has an agenda, even if it is with the best of intentions. This is one of the things I have had to come to terms with over the years of gathering. Gathering is alot of work, especially if you plug in and do things like set up a kitchen, you only do that if you have an agenda. It might be that it makes you happy to feed people as is the case of my friend Pam. She handed out sandwiches at a gathering a couple of years ago and while it sure made alot of hungry hippies happy to get a pb&J or a bologna sandwich, she benefited as well because she loves to feed people and her heart was happy. She handed out sandwiches for hours, exhausting herself. You just don't do that if you aren't getting something back, it is human nature.
Anyway, without agendas everyone is free to do whatever comes naturally and best, so only the best happens. Just think about when your calendar is full, it might be all fun stuff but perhaps an activity comes when you are not up to it, you can't give it your all. Perhaps next week's activity would suit your mood better this week and this week's activity would suit your mood better next week. Because of the agenda of society, you have to do this week's activity this week even if it isn't getting your best.
I can see how this free thinking could wreak havoc on a large society so intuned with the clock and calendar but for a few weeks a year, time doesn't matter. What you need is somehow in your path when you need it in the middle of the woods. And that my friend is the magic of gathering.
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