What We Do Here

Have I ever mentioned that when I finished high school, my father — a psychiatrist who always encouraged self-discovery — suggested I take a vocational aptitude test? The top two career matches: Minister and YMCA Director. I’m just telling you that for a little context!

The mission of the Waldo County YMCA is to promote the physical, mental, social, and spiritual development of Waldo County children and families.  Though I consider myself a spiritual seeker, I have shied away from that here because the “C” in our name has such strong cultural connotations. (I won’t mention the “Y” and the “M” … maybe another time.)  But in reading about the early days of the YMCA Movement and the founder, George Williams, I have been thinking about how we promote spiritual development here. 

George Williams moved to London from a farm so that he could work at one of the new factories.  A few years into his work, he felt called to bring young men together for wholesome, faith-centered activities — Bible study was among the first. I can only guess at what drove him to this, but I imagine it had to do with an age-old insight: “Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.”  (That’s how the Buddha said it.)  St. Augustine framed it more pointedly: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in [God].”  A more contemporary author I love, David Foster Wallace, put it like this: “Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship... is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.”  I think George recognized this truth and wanted to help others realize it.

Physical activity grew out of this wish to help others.  It is a great way to channel youthful energy into positive habits.  As I have learned through many years on Soccer, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, and now Masters Swimming teams, the commitment I make to my teams and my physical fitness pays back in multiples through strength, endurance, and social bonds.  I’ve learned to trust myself and others as well as how much more I have in the tank when I think I’m exhausted. 

In our programs at the WCY, we use physical activity and social connection as a bridge to character, which is another way to think of spiritual development or the “fruits of the Spirit” (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) as St. Paul called them. 

That principle still holds. At camp, we see how much our kids love to move — to run, swing, climb, and play. They’re happiest (and best behaved) when they’re engaged physically. And it gives them a chance to practice character, with counselors there to help guide them.

Recently, I listened to Eknath Easwaran’s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, which emphasizes that all life shares one divine essence. Joy, he says, comes from living that truth through every action and thought. He tells a story of Gandhi repeating the name “Rama” (the Hindu embodiment of humanity’s highest potential) constantly — in meditation, walking, even as he fell asleep — to train his mind toward God. Easwaran writes that when Gandhi was shot by his assassin his mind went immediately to his mantra, “Rama.” (Some reports differ, of course, but the point is: even in this moment of potential pain and suffering, his mind was devoted to the highest ideal of humanity.)

I guess what I’m learning — over and over — is how important it is for me to worship “some sort of god or spiritual type thing”. How important it is to make that a part of my moment-to-moment life.  I am learning that at the gooey center, the purpose of life is to love and to serve. And that is what we all do here.

Reading about George Williams’ vision reminds me how lucky I am to have found the WCY.

I am cognizant that it may seem that I am pushing some specific belief system.  I guess I am… that we all do better when we love and we serve.  I hope you see it in everyone sitting behind the front desk, leading a class, watching the pool, and working with children.  AND in every cup of coffee, exercise partnership, and kind word exchanged in the hallways.

Thank you for being part of this community. You help make it what it is.

(I don’t mind admitting now that although I followed my father’s advice to take the vocational aptitude test, I did it with the begrudging attitude of an adolescent who thought he knew better.  Clearly, my father knew what he was doing.  I am grateful to have started to listen.)