Every morning, BCIers take part in avodah projects around camp. Avodah, meaning "work" or "service," is a chance to give back to the camp by improving it. In addition, avodah is an opportunity to be outside, and connect with the earth in a different way.
This summer, I had the privilege of coordinating the work at the outdoor prayer space. We use this space every Friday night during BCI for services. Our goal was to beautify and prepare the area each week for Shabbat.
A wise and slightly eccentric teacher once taught: "what we see in the earth, we see in ourselves." So, if we are working on earth that is overgrown, messy, and full of weeds... what can that tell us about where we are at in our life?
For me, the work that we did in the prayer space was linked very closely to another part of the BCI day: avodat halev. We start and end each day with avodat halev, meaning "service of the heart," as an opportunity for each BCIer to share something about themselves that the group might not know about them.
In the space of avodat halev, we heard stories of tragedy and triumph, of deep-seated pain and suffering, of facing adversity and overcoming it. We heard stories that reflect all aspects of the human condition: hope, joy, sorrow, shame, love, hate, etc.
For me, the purpose of the time is to truly acknowledge and honor the wholeness of another. Life teaches us to be strong, and to bury the things that hurt us. We walk around with our guards up all the time, putting up a front of happiness and perfection. But this ritual is a rare opportunity to listen to someone else bear their soul, and say to him/her, "I see you, not just in the beautiful things that you are, but also in your brokenness." Whoa.
How does this relate to the work in the prayer space?
When we first started working on the prayer space, it was a bit of a mess. Weeds were everywhere. Rocks were moved out of place. Paint was fading. It was still beautiful; it just needed a little work to help it shine again.
We had a vision and set goals. We got our hands dirty and weeded, planted, and painted. We knew that we couldn't fix everything, and therefore didn't strive for perfection.
As we worked, we talked about the important things going on for us. We talked about the baggage that we all brought to BCI, the things that we wanted to let go of. As we transformed the prayer space, we were also transforming ourselves. We learned to accept ourselves in our wholeness; in our beauty and our brokenness.
So maybe it is true: "What we see in the earth... we see in ourselves."
 |
| Entrance to the prayer space. A little overgrown, but still beautiful :) |
 |
| The (slightly unorganized) prayer space |
 |
| Photo by Michael Murray |
 |
| Photo by Michael Murray Emily paints the mural. |
 |
| Building the path to the prayer space |
 |
| Mural leading up to the space |
 |
| Mural leading down from the space. |
 |
| Painted benches... |
  |
| Photo by Michael Murray Silliness on the last day |
Fun with paint on the last day!
