Introduction

"Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It is our goal in life to find it and keep it lit." ~ Mary Lou Retton, Olympic gymnast

An inextinguishable dancing flame that burns in varying intensities within me is based around the thematic ordered simplicity of camp life. As I journey to a place of greater inner authenticity I ask the question: Is it possible to recreate a personal lifestyle designed around a camp theme? Absolutely! A camp theme or any other theme that rings in harmony to one's own self is an authentic theme that will surely ignite one's life with sizzling flames of passion.

I have said adios to the old life. Bring on the sizzle!

No longer am I willing to let the flames of authenticity that once warmed my soul get buried under the cold demands of a life that pulls me in directions that do not resonate with true authenticity. My adult years have been filled with the tending to too many daily fires of life. It is true that in this life, we can't escape the refining fires of human existence but that reality should never keep us from embracing the sacred fire within that is uniquely ours. It is a gift of the most divine proportions.

For me, it has taken some radical departures to break free from the demands of others so that I can become more in tune to my true self, that unique creature that God designed for a grand purpose. In connecting with Him and the simplicity of life, I am able to find new meaning. Interestingly, the new meaning I find is beautifully woven to the very things that have been at the core of my being all along. Surprise, surprise! The things I loved as a child are still the things I love today!

The concept of camp is still as delightful to me as it was in the 1960's and 1970's when summer weeks were spent in preparation for camp time adventures. Everyday at camp was a grand adventure. The magical ambiance of singing campfire songs under starlit skies to the crackle and romance of a big outdoor fire, or roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and telling tales and ghost stories, sleeping in rustic cabins close to the sounds of nature, waking up to big lumberjack style
breakfast buffets, creative morning bible studies, and the fun filled daily curriculum of arts and crafts, music and drama, water activities and great outdoor adventures. Camp was a fun adventure that has long lingered in my heart.

What if I create my own camp? Not a public camp, but rather just my own quirky camp-like lifestyle for me here at home. What a cool way to schedule into my life all the things I want to do! Too fun! There are so many different projects and activities, so many different things I want to learn to do. The list stretches quite long.

To explain how this has come into being right now. I've been selling the catering and restaurant equipment from my former business, the business that no longer was an authentic path for me.
But it was not an easy thing to let go of the things that had been such a part of my life and my livelihood for so long. And yet I needed to let them go. As I do that, I have some great space that is in the process of being freed up. To soothe myself through the process, I have turned my thoughts to how to use the two rooms when everything that I don't need anymore is gone. That is how the camp theme resurfaced. Now I'm excited to watch those old things be moved out knowing that the emptying of what no longer fits will be made new with what is more authentic for me today.

Welcome to Camp Agape Cove ~ The Home of Kathi Dameron~ writer, artist, weekend adventurer, renaissance woman in search of true authenticity.

copyright (c) Kathi Dameron December 24, 2005