Shabbat Shalom, Camp Louise!

If we really look around, we can find the beauty in so many things around us – the people, nature, the place, and so much more!  And where better to do this than at camp?  We wait all year to be able to spend the summer at camp!  And now we are here!  How lucky are we?!

While it may be very easy to get caught up in the things that bother us, it is truly so important to be grateful for what we do have!  And that is what we spent the week talking about – gratitude/hakarat hatov.

We are given the incredible opportunity to live in this community and experience so many different activities.

We get to meet people from all over the world and learn from them – 13 countries are represented at camp this summer!

I often hear from campers and staff that they can be their true selves here.  What a gift that is!

The campers who lit candles with me were nominated for showing gratitude.  Here are a few of the things they did:

• One Unit B camper talks to her bunk about how lucky she is to have such a loving and caring community both at home and at camp!
• A Unit E camper never forgets to thank people even for the tiniest of things.  I was told that just by being around her causes others to be more grateful. How amazing is that?!
• One Unit F camper always shows gratitude for camp and for everything that is offered here.  Even when her bunkmates are not as enthusiastic for counselor-planned activities, this camper always approaches them with a smile on her face saying they should be grateful for what the counselors planned. She is grateful to be here and always shows gratitude for camp and her bunkmates.
• An ST is always so grateful to be at camp.  She always has a smile on her face and is always a great role model for everyone – even during a 14 mile bike ride!

And I was even told that a Unit A bunk always screams THANK YOU to all of their instructors at the end of each activity.  What if we all started doing that?!

And what if we all focused on showing a little more gratitude every day…..can you imagine what our world would be like?

Shabbat Shalom!

Alicia