Let’s All Live Like Desperados

Go with me here…I am kind of an eytmology junkie.

A “desperado” is an outlaw.  An “outlaw” is someone who lives outside the laws, or one who is living a lawless life (O.E.).    “Laws” -from the pl verb lag(O.N.)- mean “layer, measure and something laid down or fixed.”

This leads us to that a  desperado  is someone who lives outside of what is fixed, measured, and the rules that are laid down upon him or her.

To me that means, a desperado is someone who is not only thinking but LIVING outside the box.

Desperado?

Sign me up right now.

Last week, I had the pleasure of leading a laughter yoga session for the staff party on the last night of camp at The Chewonki Foundation.  We had a blast…it was a incredible group of people and somehow as the session went on more and more people sought shelter from the rain and came into our laughter session to share in the mirth.

At the end of the session, a participant came up to me with a huge smile and said, “Years ago, I worked at a summer camp when I was out of college.  And the director pulled all of the counselors aside before camp began and said,

“‘For the next 7 weeks, let’s all live like desperados.’  And that is exactly what we did.   It was life changing for all of us and for all of the campers there.   That feeling of freedom still sticks with me to this day.”

Right, exactly.  I believe  that is because living with that sense of freedom and boundlessness is how we are meant to be living.  We shine when we are at one with our sense of freedom and allow ourselves to experience our lives outside any preconceived box we have created.

What happens when we liberate ourselves and  jump off the proverbial camp dock, legs and arms flung out wide in wild abandon and live our life come what may?

What I am coming to know for my own life is that there is a sort of invincibility that happens.  Not in the sense that there is no struggle or challenge-ha! quite the opposite is true- but more that we begin to experience a sort of armor which protects us because we know we are living our “right” life.  And with that understanding comes the awareness  that we can only know what is “right” at any given moment.

And that is what I have always loved about camp.  We live in the moment.  We allow ourselves to be liberated as desperados are from the ways which constrict us.  In this environment, we have the opportunity to shine in new ways.  We choose to take risks that we have usually deemed too outlandish for everyday lives.  Essentially, we get a much needed opportunity to live outside the norms of who we think we are  and this propels us into becoming the person we know we want to be.

I want this camp feeling every day.  I want to feel a sense of newness for how I see my life and also a detachment for the ways “things should be done” in favor of the vision I deeply believe is true.   And my goal is to bring as many people dancing along as possible into this place of freedom and wildness.

Together, let’s be “desperados”, choosing a path of discovery, wonderment, and even mischievous adventuring.  Let us summon all our bravery, our authenticity, our wildest visions, as well as a damn good swagger that is full of confidence that this moment is exactly where we are meant to be.

I’m in.

Who’s up for going desperado with me?