If you look long enough, far enough and wide enough, you can still find special places on this earth. Places where judgments are set aside, laughter is the order of the day and compassion is served at every meal. A place where children can go to be children no matter what their ailment. Where the people who volunteer vacation time for a week at camp are always smiling with a sense of fortune to have been chosen for this special week. Where 20 something's volunteer their entire summer to these children when they "should be" thinking about friends, trends, movies, fall classes and their next paycheck. Camp John Marc is just such a place. Every week, they host a different group of special needs children for a week of horse back riding, fishing, boating, arts & crafts, swimming, photography, sports & games, archery, film fest, cookouts and skits.

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children hosts many camps at John Marc, just one of which is Camp Joint Adventure for children with Juvenile Arthritis. This year I had the privilege to be invited, by The Arthritis Foundation, to present the Tai Chi for Arthritis program to these special kids. To be honest, it took me about 2 weeks to decide if I could handle working with these kids. This was my weakness, not theirs. I am a fixer. If I see something broken or someone in pain I want to "fix" it or them. The question I had to ask myself is could I handle seeing children who were in pain and sometimes broken when there was nothing I could do to "fix" them. My final answer was yes because I have learned that powerful spiritual growth comes from the places where we feel most uncomfortable.

My week at camp started out tentative, not knowing my way around or quite how to act around these kids. Very soon it became apparent that while each one has their challenges, all they really wanted was to be a kid and do kid things with all the exuberance any kid can muster. Being a Cubmaster and father of three, I knew how to handle this and soon felt right at home. The other hurdle was could I make Tai Chi - a slow mindful movement exercise - palatable to kids who may have just come in wound up from the ropes course or riding horses. Could it work? Would it help? It only took my first class to help me understand how special these children really are. They were attentive, considerate and most important, truly interested. I guess with the path they have traveled comes wisdom beyond their physical ages. So, we spent a week sharing and exploring the Tai Chi spirit in the most wonderful ways. Moving the body, expanding understanding, relaxing the mind and taking time to breathe. The feedback from the children and counselors has been wonderful. They really got it! Some children reported increased range of motion with less pain and best of all it was fun.

On Thursday night, there was a talent show. A kind of last hooray for the week at camp where the children get to show what they have learned or to just be kids and have some fun with a silly skit. My Tai Chi Special Projects Group - who chose to study Tai Chi for Arthritis with me every day at camp - took the stage. They were a bit nervous, but excited to show what they had learned about Tai Chi. With a very special young lady at the point, they shared a weeks worth of love, friendship and Tai Chi with the room. Pure magic happened that night. Each of these children hold lessons for me that I will not soon forget about – courage, compassion, respect, honesty, friendship and best of all love.

In preparation for next year's camp, I have to come to terms with the fact that some of these children may not make it to next year's or any other camp. However, for those that do come back, I eagerly await their return with a smiling heart and a Tai Chi salute.

Check out my Camp John Marc 2005 Photo Gallery! [Here]

Please consider helping camp John Marc continue their wonderful programs for special needs children, through a donation of time or money to this wonderful place where kids get to be kids again.