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At Girl Scout Camp

Last week, I was a volunteer at Girl Scout Camp. I went so a camper, who has physical conditions, could attend camp and get the medical assistance she needed. What I was looking for was some time away, catch up on some reading, get a little sun and making sure this camper had a good time.

What really happened was all of the above and then some. One the second day of camp after getting sun burned, smelling like pool water, sunscreen, sweat and random craft stuff that was on me, a camper came up to me and said "you're pretty." That's it. Simple and to the point. Then she went back to whatever she had been working on.

I don't know what led her to come up to someone who was basically a stranger to her and say "you're pretty" but she did. Short, simple and with honesty that only a child can have. It was moving to hear those words. Those two words made my night, made the sunburn more then worth it. They made me feel more loved then I've felt in a long time.

It was a phrase that took a while for me to process the whole weight of. I told this girl "thank you" when she spoke to me. Then I turned to "oh that was cute/nice." Then the weight of the comment hit me, I am pretty. It's a profound statement for me to say because I don't say it. It's not something I believe to be true about myself. But when I reflected on this statement, it's not just about the physical appearance. Let's face it, no one looks "cute" after being outside in the heat and humidity, sun burned to tomato red and covered in arts and crafts gunk looks cute. You look tore up. But I believe that's not what this girl was talking about.

You see I believe that children are much closer to seeing the unclouded love/Spirit that lives in us all because they don't have years of stuff conditioning them not to see it like most adults. I believe this girl saw the inner pretty, the spirit/soul. She saw the inner pretty that's in all of creation. That's the moving part, she was connected to her inner pretty and knew to share it with others. It's a great reminder to be connected to the inner pretty that is us all.

Also learned at camp: Fruit Rollups count as a fruit, tutus make any outfit cool - only better with glitter and caramel delight brownies are infinity times infinity good.
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