Goldmine, Take 2: Nature or Nurture?

Having had a few days to decompress...

Okay, overview first of all. Goldmine is a UU Youth leadership camp. It consists of three basic lesson plans: Leadership Skills Development (facilitation, collaboration, etc.); Worship skills; and Religious Values & Heritage. We also have credo time, where people write for up to 2 hours each day; and then credo groups, where we discuss what we wrote about. There's 24 youth, 6 staff (3 young adult, three older adults), and the days are very long (~8 a.m. - 11 p.m., with a 1 a.m. curfew).

But that doesn't really tell you what happens there.

One of the most intriguing bits about Goldmine is that as it is set up and put in motion, I would think you'd have similar dynamics and similar outcomes every time. Details might be different, but generally you'd see similar trends. That's not to diminish at all what happens: putting it in motion properly is not easy. The person who runs it - in this case, Samaya - has to set a tone that is carried through the community. That tone is about taking care of one another, about being part of community in a way that probably most of us never have. The community is so supportive and so engaged with one another that a lot of people wind up letting out their pain, letting down their guard, letting others in. The community really treats each other with love and respect. And yes - yes, there can be issues, but that too is part of the process, and it's raised up, and it's dealt with, and the community remains healthy.

When you have this much support, amazing things start to happen. I saw so many transformations occur. I saw people relax, as in the tension they carry went out of them. I saw people step up in all kinds of ways. I saw what can happen when there's trust in a large group. I saw people become what they dreamed they could be.

I was on staff, which is not the same place as where the youth are. Yet still, I felt loved enough and supported enough to let myself be vulnerable, and to be strong for the youth and give of myself to the youth. I am a part of this community, and I know when I see these guys at Con, it will not be the same as it is with other youth. We're tribe.

And that's maybe the best part... carrying the memory of a time when you were held in community. It's a talisman of sorts: I know I am worthy. I know I am loved. No matter how badly I feel, or how lonely the world might be, I carry the flame of this community, and it is not within my power to put that out.

Pretty good stuff, eh?