This summer we were so delighted to welcome back a wonderful alumnae Leila Molahan to conduct a three-day workshop, “Mindfulness and Meditation.” She connected so well with the campers and provided an amazing experience for the campers. Here is a reflection by Leila about her time at camp:
This past July, I had the experience of returning to Camp Jeanne D’Arc to lead a mindfulness workshop. It was my first time returning since my summers spent there in the late nineties as an Oriole all the way up to a Junior Counselor.
I knew I was excited to return to JDA and spend time in a place that had so many core memories for me as a young girl, but I truly underestimated how powerful this experience would be to return.
Driving up to the chalet lawn from my late-night flight into Montreal, I was instantly met with the magic and wonder of the Milky Way as it spilled out all around me in the night sky. It was even more beautiful than I remembered. I think a part of me thought perhaps I had imagined how pristine and sublime my days as a camper were at JDA. This week at camp was to prove that the time I spent there was the stuff of legends and one that continues to exist today.
The following morning, I had time to myself to explore freely before the workshop began. I walked up the back trails that brought back memories of Smugglers and mountaineering expeditions. I paddle boarded on the lake to a flood of memories of waterskiing and lifeguarding, polar bear and canoeing trips.
Everywhere I looked I was met with the love that I had for this camp as a young girl that shook my heart with excitement, reverence and the deep commitment of returning year after year. Yet whether you attended one summer or 20, there’s something that lives deep inside every young girl that has been there and that is the beautiful connection of the land, the girls and the tradition that is uniquely JDA. As we sing in campfire night after night, there truly is not a camp in all the world that’s dearer.
This magic and experience couldn’t be created without the dedication of an amazing group of leaders throughout the years that have kept campers coming back year after year. From Colonel, Joe, Fran, Brian, Stiggy, Jehanne to Randy and Sandy Abbott, the camp has been blessed with the vision and passion of a special group of individuals.
I was able to witness the beautiful traditions of Colonel being carried just as strongly today as they were when I was a camper. I was also able to see a beautiful metamorphosis and renewal of camp spirit from the love and dedication of Sandy, Randy and their amazing staff.
While I was visiting, I was often asked if camp was different when I went there in the 90’s to which I replied, “No, it is just as special now as it was then.”
What an honor and a gift to share the tools of mindfulness with the campers. We spent three days developing social-emotional tools that the girls can continue to use and develop. We shared in Laughter Yoga on our first day to remind ourselves to bring levity and joy with us. We shared in a guided meditation, that I led, that focused on loving-kindness and global healing through heart-centered visualization techniques. I also used movement as a means of contemplative practice through a gentle yoga practice and allowed the girls to create their own poses based on an animal and the special traits they felt that animal highlighted.
The second day we focused on restorative justice circles where the girls gave positive reinforcement and validation to each other in a safe, supportive setting where everyone felt heard and acknowledged. They then were asked to do the same for themselves too by re-claiming qualities that they like, admire and appreciate about themselves.
Lastly, we wrote letters to our future selves that they will receive at the beginning of 2025. They took time to reflect on their intentions for the next six months and what they wanted to focus on moving forward in the new year.
After writing their letter to themselves, each camper wrote a letter of encouragement and words of strength and inspiration to a younger camper that was not in the workshop. We wanted every camper to feel included in the experience of loving-kindness even though they may not have been able to take the workshop this summer. The letters were passed out after campfire to each one of them from an anonymous upper camper that was personally written with them in mind.
It seems I went back to camp to offer a workshop but received so much more in return. It was an incredible few days of reconnection, laughter and the unique spirit of Camp Jeanne D’Arcers. Out of all the words to describe my experience, the best one still seems to be- magical.