If there is one thing I know for sure, a better time for prioritizing joy and pleasure won’t be knocking on your door or mine anytime soon. Thus, a core skill to be learned in SUMMER CAMP is how to find and create pockets for joy, regardless of everything on your to-do list, summer calendar, work expectations… even your own physical capacity. If we want to create consistently nourishing and joyful lives, we must learn how to meet ourselves where we are in the moment and scale our expectations of what is possible.

SUMMER CAMP will urge you to lovingly and creatively examine the landscape of your life and weave joy into everything else on your plate.

How much time you spend with these prompts is entirely up to you! Every minute and drop of joy will benefit you, but being able to spend 10-15 minutes a day on these activities is a gorgeous start. 

In addition to weekly micro-experiments & reminders, we will have one call per week to either tune in to live or listen to at your leisure.

SUMMER CAMP has six calls – three campfire chats, two craft-alongs, and a summer camp reunion in September. 

Here is the schedule:

Campfire sessions will take place on Monday nights from 7 - 8:30 pm Eastern. 

Dates: 6/29, 7/13, 7/27

Craft-a-longs will take place WEEKLY on Wednesdays from 12:00 - 1:30 pm Eastern. 

Dates: 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29

We will have a SUMMER CAMP movie night Friday, 7/17 from 7 to 9ish pm. Movie to be determined by the group!

All calls will be recorded and posted within 24 hours both in the online classroom (video) and on the private podcast (audio) for you to listen to at your leisure.

All you need is high speed internet access, a phone or computer, and the field guide in whatever format you most want to work with it in – digital, print it yourself, order the care package and I will print for you. 

During SUMMER CAMP, I will encourage you to pursue forms of play and pleasure that are utterly free – the world outside/within your home, past purchases that you never used or haven’t used in a long time, books from the library, etc.

Too often we believe that our joy is on the other side of a major purchase. SUMMER CAMP will help you divest from such beliefs as you learn to cultivate moments of joy and play within the life you have and the possessions you already own.

You will feel guilty… until someday you won’t. And then maybe sometimes you will again, but less so.

Which is to say, SUMMER CAMP will encourage you to gain comfort and familiarity prioritizing your joy even when you feel guilty or uncomfortable.

Prioritizing joy is a muscle that we must grow! Feeling a squidge guilty and doing it anyway is a muscle we must grow!

But we are never going to grow those muscles if we wait until we no longer feel guilty to do the damn thing.

I will turn this question back to you, with a twist… is it worth feeling silly or frivolous every once and a while to be able to lead a life drenched in pleasure and joy?

It sounds like the questions underneath your question might be, “What will other people think?” or “What if they don’t approve?”

SUMMER CAMP is for you. For your enjoyment. For your pleasure. For carving out some space dead smack in the middle of your life for your play.

Playing is silly! I hope you laugh in SUMMER CAMP! You might feel like a beginner a million times and it might have you grinding your teeth. But, this work is so sweet and powerful.

For me, having access to my own pleasure is worth momentary embarrassment 😉

I went back and forth on this for quite some time, but no, there is no Facebook group in SUMMER CAMP this time around and here’s why: 

I am dreaming of a summer for all of us where we close our computers and put down our phones and joyfully engage with the world around us. 

That said, it can be very funny to party with one another in real time! So, SUMMER CAMP will have an optional Signal group for anyone who wants to join and play along with one another.

To immerse themselves in the SUMMER CAMP community, campers will be encouraged to make live calls if they are able, hang in the Signal chat if they desire to do so, and email me if they need anything!

So much of what we’re experiencing right now -- the continuing pandemic; war; the consistent reminders of centuries of systemic racism, capitalism, and patriarchy; the evolving climate crisis -- requires energy that sustains us for the long game. Our commitment to action needs to be met with tandem commitments to ourselves to allow ourselves the energy to keep showing up for what you believe in and the world you are committed to co-creating.

Stoking your joy is generative. It helps you build the capacity to remain human as you show up for the needs of the humans in your community and the world around you. 

The work we do in SUMMER CAMP is intended to be done alongside hard stuff because this is quite literally when we need to be cared for the most.

Absolutely! WINTER CAMP! You might decide to tweak some of the assignments to suit you, but you are absolutely welcome to come party with us, as long as you understand that this offering will have a decidedly Summer-y vibe.

I am in utter support of YEAR ROUND joy.

Refunds won’t be offered for time spent in SUMMER CAMP, so please sign up with confidence that you’re ready to go on this journey with me. If you are feeling uncertain or have additional questions you’d like answered, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Yes! I always reserve a few sliding scale spots for glorious humans who are feeling called to this work but are unable to afford to pay full price at this time. Please reach out to support@maraglatzel.com to inquire about a sliding scale spot. Priority will be given to BIPOC, LGBTQI2-S folks, folks living with disabilities, and folks experiencing significant financial hardship, but all are welcomed to reach out and ask for what they need.

Email me at mara@maraglatzel.com to inquire about sliding scale spots.

I love this question & you for asking it. Welcome to SUMMER CAMP.