Thursday, July 16, 2009
not afraid to fail
The thing about this project--this place, this idea, this somewhat planned and somewhat accidental legacy--is that people learn how to risk failure in order to have some free and even wild fun. In a word (is this the right word?) venturesomeness. Challenge Night is hardly the best instance of it, but it is an occasion where I at least can put forward the idea that failure is necessary to growth and success--that it's okay to fail. Etc. Simple stuff. I've been running Challenge Nights for the various villages this week (and will again next). Each one has a different flavor and cast. But the free-to-fail spirit pervades all. I mentioned this in a recent posting about Challege Night; take a look. I've made my usual Challenge Night t-shirts and give them to my volunteer VIP judges but also occasionally to a camper or staff winner. Here is a Forest boy proudly displaying his Adult Small "Al's Challenge Night" t-shirt, with the epigraph on back. Click on the image to enlarge, and read.