Our summer has officially started. We’ve gathered all our Flying Cloud brothers, returning and new alike. Watching these young men wander into our little village in the woods is always such a heart-warming experience. The gathering of our community happens at such a gentle pace, a couple of families here and there. And then, before you know it, we have a circle filled with over 60 folks!
We are so excited to have our community fully intact for this first session of Flying Cloud. As we do every first night of a session, we gathered in our ceremonial longhouse to bond our group together. We shared our five core values of Simplicity & Isolation, Common Gender, Respect & Community, Honoring the Land, and Honoring the Spirit (you can read more about them here Flying Cloud Core Values. Our Firekeeper, Maple Holds the Spring, through the use of a bow drill (Wikipedia – bow drill) brought to life the fire that will sustain us this summer. Then, to bring all the individuals together into a cohesive group, we shared what we will bring to Flying Cloud this summer, what we want to receive from Flying Cloud this summer, and what we want to leave behind when departing from Flying Cloud. Here are some highlights from the night:
What do you want to bring to Flying Cloud?
“A sense of brotherhood and love . . . a passion for nature . . . a sense of silliness and fun . . . a strong work ethic . . . a set of helping hands . . .”
What do you want to get from Flying Cloud?
“a feeling of belonging to community . . . to learn new skills in for survival in the wilderness . . . to make long-lasting friendships . . . to learn more about myself . . .”
What do you want to leave behind in your life outside of Flying Cloud?
“fear of not being myself . . . video games and television . . . fear of trying new things . . . dependence on modern technology . . .”
Of course, so much more was shared on top of these, every member in our 62-person community shared where they were coming from.
So we’re off! The journey begins and I feel confident in saying it will be filled with countless, powerful moments of new experiences, challenges of personal growth, and good ol’ fashion fun in the forest.
Don’t forget to keep checking back each week for another update on Flying Cloud summer 2012. Of course, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Zach@farmandwilderness.org. I never shy away from a chance to talk more about the Cloud!
~FF~