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Sacred Altars
Another camp activity I always feel privileged to witness is the making of sacred altars. The children choose symbols and shapes that are meaningful to them and create a small altar that they can put in their bedroom or play area as a reminder of their connection to the deeper part of themselves and to the source of life. This year we made them smaller than last year in order to make them more portable in case a child is traveling to a new place where it may be nice to have a touchstone. It's fun to lay out all kinds of natural objects, shapes, talismans, symbols and decorations and see what each child chooses and hear about why it's special to them. They always turn out so beautiful.
They already know
Most of the time, children are delighted to explore their inner world and are willing to go deeply into that space. When I was doing daycare at the local Montessori school, I had the opportunity to witness children who were studying Andy Goldsworthy in their art class, create their own natural art installations. What emerged from the children was stunning. From fairy rings to flower spirals, cylinders made of bark, tiny seed pod trails and redwood branch shelters, each one was a revelation, both about the individual child who created it and the deep connections of earth and spirit. In one piece, a young girl had begun with a star-like display of grassy leaves to which she added three lumpy mounds of dirt that resembled an ancient fertility goddess. Then she poured water all over it until there was a chasm running down the center of the goddess figure. Tears came to my eyes as the totality of the work hit me. She had revealed to me the miracle of creation on earth and the illusion of its permanence all at once. There was a knowing in it that seemed to transcend what this 6 year old girl could have consciously understood. That gave me the inspiration to have sacred art projects in my meditation camps where I was lucky enough to see more creations that knocked my socks off. With clay, paint, collages and natural objects, their imaginations and depth of being were suddenly right there for anyone who had eyes to see and the quiet pleasure and satisfaction of allowing it to come to the surface was quite evident in each of them.
