Camp Illahee is looking for awesome staff.
Or should I say AWE-some staff?
Because when we say “awesome” we mean staff who are capable of experiencing and generating that remarkable feeling of awe.
“Awe” makes me think of camp. I think of our campers and our staff. My favorite definition is:
“an emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we do not fully understand.”
I don’t fully understand why I love hiking up Little Green Mountain with a bunch of Sparks or paddling down the French Broad with the silliest group of middle schoolers ever, but I do love it.
I don’t fully know why my heart skips a beat when I hear that same old birthday queen song for the hundredth time, and there’s no secret formula for the moment when I got goosebumps watching a small Hillbrook camper stand before 300 women and boldly give her wish at the final campfire.
And there’s a mystery to feeling closer to God while sipping coffee and hearing stories with three dozen counselors at 7 a.m. in our living room for counselor Bible Study.
In those moments, I stood in awe.
Former staff and campers understand the struggle of explaining camp to someone who has yet to experience it. “You slept in a cabin?” “You sang about a pine tree?” “You made how many friendship bracelets?” “You dressed up like which obscure Olympic athlete?”
Trying to expound on your summer, you say:
“Ehh, you just had to be there.”
We want staff who want to be there. We want the best. We want counselors passionate about living life to the fullest, creating radically hospitable communities, and expressing themselves in the silliest and most authentic ways possible to serve our campers.
We want women who can help cultivate awe-inspiring experiences for the hundreds of girls who flock to these Illahee Hills each summer. We want them to lean into the mysterious alchemy that is “camp” and put others before themselves, leading campers up the literal and metaphorical mountains of life and helping them see just how amazing they are.
Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at Berkley. He wrote a book all about awe. He’s devoted his life to researching happiness and asking, “How can we live a life enlivened by joy and community and meaning?” And his answer.
“Find awe.”
Seek out experiences of awe.
Keltner studied awe by gathering thousands of stories from all over the world: different countries, different religions, different ways of thinking, and different perspectives. These were epic stories of tragedy, conquest, natural exploration, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Think of being in the front row at a Led Zeppelin concert or walking into the city of Mecca for the first time.
But what surprised me was that across all these stories, he found that what most led people to experience awe was not vast, breathtaking views of nature, spiritual or religious practices, or worship. It wasn’t listening to music or seeing magnificent art.
What most led people to experience awe was witnessing other people’s courage, kindness, and ability to overcome challenges.
Moral Beauty is what he called it.
This is what I witnessed from our counselors this summer. Over and over again, camp was overflowing with Moral Beauty.
Now, we need awesome people to help us do it again.
We look forward to working with you.
-Lucas
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