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Recently a visitor of this site referred to our lifestyle as our "world." That got me to thinkin.Do we have some sort of distinct "world"? I have never thought of it in those terms. Assuredly,we have a different PERSPECTIVE on the rest of the world because our vantage point is so different. We are much like eagles perching atop a cliff,taking it all in.That may be a bad example since eagles are predators and it is not our aim to swoop down like them and grab a rodent off the desert floor.We do emulate their observational powers though. The day of completely shutting out what is happening on the rest of the planet has long-since past for most monastics.Most communal and solitary monks today are very much in touch with world events. Some use the flimsey excuse of wanting to be able to know how to pray better for the world's needs but we make no excuses here. Hey we are newshounds and wanna know what the hell is going on out there,period! So we are geeks. We can access info in our own time and completely under our control so that there is no intrusion on our solitude.But the question still begs:What is a solitary's "world?" I can only speak for this solitary. My day begins long before sunrise,I know the "world" of darkness,real darkness,no city lights on this island,the world of magnificant stars,the cycles of the moon,the complete silence of the first few hours of morning,the chill and the dampness,the blessed absence of the magnetic energy created by people and activities occuring during the day even hundreds of miles away-the STILLNESS-much in that concept which can only be known by experience.Then there is the gradual cessation of all that as the sun rises and not only solar energy but other forces become activated by day.Then I know the pain of manual labor,the frustration of having to lead others,the happiness and grief of seeing the news as it happens,the emotions running through my silence: anger,lust,anxiety,frustration of having so many tasks I want to accomplish yet and so little time left to do them.I know the "noonday devil" (Gk. acedia) of midday and the relief of it by reading Psalms at that time,the languor of post-noon when the sun beats down and i lay on a slab of warm lavarock,waiting for the tropical heat to pass before I finish my chores.Then there is the boredom of having to do the same chores every day;dishes,laundry,cutting the jungle back,dumping the trash and carrying it to the pit,cleaning the chemical toilets we have to use,maintaining the generator,waterpump and backup 12volt system,and of course-scandisk and defrag. Then,about 3pm,the "sundowner" breezes waft in from the ocean and the load of the day gets lighter to bear.The cats and I sit on the porch and watch the day end,the sunset is always in front of us all year. The world outside and here in the rainforest begins to quiet. I read the Vespers Psalms out there and do a few rounds on my chotki.At that time the day does not seem so bad,after all.Nightfalls quickly in the Pacific. I light the oil lamps,turn off the irritating noise of the generator and run on batteries then,a bit of reading thro tired eyes and then blessed sleep,"which knits the raveled sleeve of care." Yes,I guess it is a different "world." "Noctem quietem et finem perfectum." |
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