One of my favorite passages from The Mother is called "The Great Adventure"
There are people who love adventure. It is these I call, and I tell them this: "I invite you to the great adventure."
It is not a question of repeating spiritually what others have done before us, for our adventure begins beyond that. It is a question of a new creation, entirely new, with all the unforeseen events, the risks, the hazards it entails – a real adventure, whose goal is certain victory, but the road to which is unknown and must be traced out step by step in the unexplored. Something that has never been in this present universe and that will never be again in the same way. If that interests you... well, let us embark. What will happen to you tomorrow – I have no idea.
One must put aside all that has been foreseen, all that has been devised, all that has been constructed, and then... set off walking into the unknown. And – come what may! There.
In many ways the camp was the adventure that the mother had described. It was definitely not something that others had done before us, it was entirely new, with many unforeseen events, all of which were handled and solved beautifully. It was an unexplored road for many of us. As Devi mentioned later, they had "lived in Singapore for so many years but had not realized that so much fun could be had in a place that was so near". In a way, we all did walk into the unknown, braved out the adventures and came through it somewhat changed, some what grown up.
A plethora of colorful tents dotting the beach landscape - the incessant chatter of friends - the delightful squeals of children - a woman on a bench overlooking the sea, quietly playing on a flute, drawing about her a small group of fascinated children – an eleven month old grinning with six teeth as she came out of the water in her father's arms – two six year olds playing in the sea, having fun as they threw sand into the water – fifteen bicycles cruising down different paths and converging in the playground – A little girl crying as her parents tried to put her on a baby seat before finally falling asleep as her mother rode with her on the back of the bicycle - children shouting encouragement as facilitators rescued "stranded" jellyfish and put them back into the water – A peg with clothes drying cheerfully in the constant sea breeze – Children and adults roaming the inter-tidal zone, collecting seashells and exclaiming over the fauna – three little girls cluttered together in a small tent, painting the foraged seashells – easy banter over a barbecue dinner – people lying in a circle, gazing at stars – lots of teamwork, friendship and love…
Spirituality was in the very heart of the event. Not in a "sitting quiet in meditation" kind of a way, but in the pure joy of the children and the easy camaraderie with which everything was organized and carried out. At IEP, we set our standards of integrality by checking everything we do and seeing if it has "Goodness", "Truth" and "Beauty". The camp had exhibited all the three qualities in a very wholesome way, and therein lay the integrality of the event.
A longer reflection on the IEP camp and other IEP activities can be found at our blog: http://iepsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/03/reflections-on-iep-camp-2008.html
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