The Road Not Taken

On Monday I was a chaperone on the junior retreat for Villanova Prep. While on this retreat four different situations took place that made me pause and think.  For the junior retreat the students travel 45 minutes to Los Padres National Park to hike to Piedra Blanca. 

The first situation of the day took place on the bus ride.  In conversation with one of the Augustinian's that meets with our community frequently, we started problem solving for a situation that had occurred.  I've always thought most priests and religious life have all the answers, even though I know they don't because they are human too.  A refresher for my outlook on religious life and a gentle reminder to not be so quick to criticize.

The hike is an easy mile and a half long and leads to Piedra Blanca, meaning white stone.  The white stones are excellent for climbing and exploring.  On the way up to the groups stop along the way and read aloud scripture or poems.  Once all the groups got up to Piedra Blanca the students had mass.

This was the second situation that I thought was interesting for my day.  I climbed a rock to be stationed in a no climbing zone for the students and was overlooking mass.  My hearing of mass was directly related to how strong the wind was blowing.  If there was a strong wind I couldn't hear anything and if there was no wind I could hear everything.  Even when I couldn't hear what Fr. Alvin was saying, I knew exactly what was going on by the motions and actions of him and others.  It was powerful to be able to see mass from that height and distance, but also feel so close to what was going on.    

After mass the students had to sit alone for 30 minutes to reflect, pray or journal.  They came back together for lunch and then had time to explore the stones.  The last activity before hiking back was a small group discussion.   Surprise!  As a chaperone you have to lead a small group.

My third situation is about my small group.  First, I have to say that I don't miss the days of high school youth group of thinking of begging a small group to talk.  It is awful when you ask a question and the small group stares at you like you asked them to memorize the bible in 10 languages by tomorrow.  That about sums up my group.  I did ask what their least favorite part of the day was and one of the students said mass.  Another student started answering a question saying, "If I was Catholic I would probably believe...".  Both of these answers made me think about how hard it must be for a non-Catholic (and possibly Christian) to go to a school where they are surrounded by these beliefs.  Although it is a choice they (and their parents) make, it could still be difficult to be constantly having the reminders of being different or having to participate in something you don't fully understand.

The fourth situation is literally the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and Villanova Prep juniors.  We came to a fork in the road on the hike back and I had no idea which way to go.  One group of students had taken off for the right fork, while another group went to the left. Luckily both forks led to the same parking lot, but we had read this poem earlier that day.  What road do you travel?  There was no right or wrong answer in this case, but the strong belief in their path was the correct path was overwhelming. I hope they realize soon that not all paths lead to the same parking lot.  I hope they also learn that it's okay for adventure, but it's also okay to stop and ask for directions.

A Community of Fear Conquerors

For Halloween the Ventura Community traveled to visit the San Diego Community.  Since the Peru Community doesn't leave until January, we met them there as well.  I was very sad that Chicago and Lawrence were unable to be there, but I was so excited to see San Diego and Peru.  It was a long week for the Ventura Community, but we decided to get up early on Saturday to be able to meet the other communities for a hike at Potato Chip Rock.  As you can see in the picture, Potato Chip Rock is a thin sliver that juts out over the valley.  Unfortunately you can't see the view or the path you take to get on to the chip.

After watching a few groups of people hang out over the side and do yoga poses on the rock, we decided to do community pictures due to heart palpitations of multiple community members.  Peru goes first and they crawl onto the rock.  It was then decided that we did not come all the way up the service road (side story, see below!) for us to only get community pictures.  As a klutzy, not graceful person who often trips and falls while running and has a shoulder that is prone to subluxation, I literally thought I would not make it onto Potato Chip Rock.  After all, you're talking about the girl that wiped out on the trolley tracks during orientation.  Whenever a situation like this comes about, I can see myself falling off the mountain or sliding down into a crevice I can't get out of.   The small miracle is not only did I make it onto Potato Chip Rock, but I also made it back to solid ground.

How I made it can be described in one word: community.  It was community members that helped me pull myself up on the first rock. Bridget literally talked me into taking a leap of faith onto the second rock, reminding me to lean forward.  During the picture we all held on, some for dear life and other to dear friends.  After the photo, Francis literally gave me a knee up to be able to pull myself up onto the rock to return to the first rock.  Sliding down onto solid ground and having my heart return to a normal rhythm, I thought that wasn't so bad.

Every single one of us has come to the AVs with some sort of fear.  Whether it be about moving away from home, living in community, at our respective service sites or something we haven't faced yet.   I hope that  we continue to be a community that builds each other up to conquer fears.

Side note story: Ventura and San Diego/Peru met at the hike and both ended up at the service road  up to Potato Chip Rock.  The service road was a paved, straight up hike while the other hike was a 4 mile slope up the mountain.  Not the first time the Ventura Community has hiked the wrong path and probably won't be the last time.