Written by He Gives a.k.a. Sunshine Mathon for summer 2000
Simplicity and Isolation.
Flying Cloud’s simplicity and physical isolation have many, many facets, both subtle and overt. All provide a deep strength and value to Flying Cloud’s core. Living structures, de-structured time, clothing, simple diet, physical work, roofless kybos, secluded locale, fire, woods skills, silence. Fire, burning with wood collected by our hands, warms us, nourishes us, and lights our way in the dark. The bones, the frames of our living structures are cut and shaped by our hands. Without clocks or calendars our sense of time narrows and re-focuses, our existence endures in the moment. We live with the sounds of our laughter, with the pure tone of the conch that calls us together, with the calls of the robins, jays and woodpeckers. Our simplicity and physical isolation allow us to define the terms of our existence, our own unique culture. This freedom removes us from the everyday, negative societal pressures we all experience in our broader lives. It provides an opportunity for us to step outside our normal roles, to find a clear expression of ourselves.
Respect and Community.
Many claim Flying Cloud embodies respect and community, or at least approaches these ideals more completely than anywhere else they’ve experienced. Flying Cloud causes us to respect ourselves, to respect each other, and to respect the natural world. It helps us recognize the whole of which we, as human beings, are individual constituents. There are many ways Flying Cloud facilitates this: imbuing young people with an honored voice, freedom to be and express ourselves, responsibility to and dependency upon each other, holding hands in circle five times each day, encouraging cooperation over competition, freedom to clothe ourselves as we wish, and honoring the humility of the individual as an element of profound community participation.
Common Gender.
Prominent among the social pressures mentioned above is the societal portrayal of what it is to be male. Living in a community of all men and boys does not, in and of itself, provide any particular value. Such a community existing within a context of respect, simplicity, and an honoring of the land and the spirit, however, presents an opportunity to consider deeper definitions of maleness. The boys and men at Flying Cloud engage each other in non-traditionally masculine ways – with nurture and care, with patience, with non-violence, with community awareness. Flying Cloud’s all-male community also provides a powerful opportunity to challenge typically male prejudices, in particular homophobia and misogyny. A great deal of fantastic work has been and will continue to be done to confront such prejudice and its role in society’s depiction of what it is to be male.
Honoring the Land.
There is nothing like living close to the earth that so exquisitely inspires respect and appreciation for the natural world. Toes chilled and awakened in the morning dew as we walk to circle, owls conversing across the clearing as we lay our heads to sleep, stained fingers from moist berries on the branch. We experience the depth of life that we do at Flying Cloud because we embrace the woods as our home and caretaker. This vibrancy saturates the entirety of our lives at Flying Cloud, highlighting everything we do with the precious hue of life and spirit.
Honoring the Spirit.
Flying Cloud is a spiritual environment – one replete with ceremony, mystique, and a persistent appreciation for our numinous existence. Our individual connections with the earth and with the life surrounding us, including each other, matures profoundly during the summer months. This development would not be possible without the enveloping presence of the spirit throughout Flying Cloud. Although a spiritual essence can be found in almost every aspect of life at Flying Cloud, certain occasions have unambiguous spiritual overtones – Naming Ceremonies, Friendship Fires, and Solo’s for example. As well as offering their own value and teachings, these spiritual facets of Flying Cloud broaden and strengthen all other aspects of the program.