Thursday, December 01, 2005

The Vitality of a New Idea.........

"The vitality of thought is in adventure. Ideas won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, it's custodians have fervor."
Alfred North Whitehead

Over the course of the past month, an assembly of kindred people have started to gather through the magic of technology. And, it all started by the initiative of one person who sent his idea out to a group and asked for input and feedback. Soon, the initial idea sparked more ideas, and an adventure of planning and of developing a more effective means of communicating followed by others who embraced the idea.

What's interesting is that the idea was generated by a sad event shared by the kindred group. Separately, we learned that the summer camp where we all spent warm memorable times was closing for good. It came as a big shock. It wasn't expected. There was an assumption that the camp would possibly be sold to a new owner, but that the physical place would continue to be there. It was thought that Kawabi would always remain at the end of the camp road retaining the laughter, the songs, the secrets and friendships, the activities and experiences and the personal growth moments of the kindreds to revisit.

Opportunity and hope has grown out of something negative. A celebration is in the works; an opportunity to reconnect after years of leading individual life paths has begun, and it is definately a much merrier way to deal with the end of an era. In fact, it may just be that the vitality behind one idea has started something new.

On the last night of camp, one small candle was lit from the dying fire. The flame then went on to light the candles held by the leaders and counsellors who in turn helped light the candles held by the campers. Soon darkness turned into a warm glow that shone on the faces of the kindreds as they sang their last song. At the end of the refrain, the tune was hummed by all. One at a time, the lit candles were thrown into the campfire as the procession of people quietly walked away with their groups to embrace their last night together. They left behind a resparked fire that continued to glow in the solitude of the night.


Thank you Bow for passing the light of your candle. Together we all will bring your idea to life.


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