Asking a Flying Clouder what stood out about their experience in this community can lead to a host of different answers. Some people remember the friendships, some a particular trip, and some a certain craft. Everyone, however, remembers the rite of passage that is the experience of receiving your Flying Cloud Name.
After a day spent in silent reflection on who they are and who they want to become, Flying Clouders who will receive their FC names Monday evening will join the rest of the campers and build a huge fire at the center of the Naming Ceremony. That evening, after dinner and games with guests from the other Farm & Wilderness camps, each one of them takes his turn to sit on the Flying Cloud Naming blanket and be praised and appreciated by the rest of the community. The name synthesized from this praise marks a turning point for its bearer. Before receiving it, he may have been having a fun time at camp playing games and learning skills But afterwards, he knows how much he means to the rest of the community, and can reflect upon as well as challenge himself to live up to the lofty qualities of his Flying Cloud name.
No matter the age at which it is received, an FC name stays with us, inspiring us to try to always be the best self it describes, and growing with us over time as we find new ways to apply it to our changing lives, as well as new lessons that it can teach us.
The following names were given at the last Naming Ceremony:
Heartwood Dance
Oak Cub
Dawnlit Spring
Boulder Seeks the Sunrise
Reaching Roots
Very Rain
Shrike Song
Canyon Echoes
Catamount Shapes the Oak
Hummingbird’s Hearth
Lightning Gift
Starlit Owl
Fox Brother Speaks
Please join us in welcoming these new Flying Clouders. May they have many more adventures in the woods of Vermont and beyond.
We’re headed off on trips soon. Stay tuned to hear about those soon!
Be well and much love,
– Forest Flame