Monasticism

Suppe talked about the Benedictine monks in Medieval Civ today. I think if I lived in that time period, I would have probably figured that since I'm destined to be a hermit for the rest of my life, I might as well go all out and take the veil. Devote myself to pure concentration towards all things holy. My concentration sucks, so I think it would be a good thing for me. Or would have in a time when it wasn't so "weird" as it would be today. Despite taking the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, I would find peace, quiet, and solitude. No marriage and sex for me, please. No trivial distractions. Just me and God. Obviously I'm romanticizing a bit. Living in a beautiful old monastery, isolated from the dregs of life, yeah. Sounds soooo nice. And maybe it would, to a person accustomed to living so simply that forfeiting everything else to the Lord isn't such a big deal. I'm not even religious, but I've found a new appreciation for the meditating types who can somehow leave their anchors to the earth and unite their consciousness to something so great and intangible, so much more pure and amazing than life itself. I'd love to live in a simple house in the woods, or on an island, or at the edge of a desert, where no one can bother me anymore. It's one thing to fear solitude if it means everyone you know walking away from you and out of your life for good. But creating one's own privacy, one's own nook in some cozy corner of the world? To me, that is the best thing. That there are private, lonely places on this crowded rock which one can retire to when humanity becomes a bothersome plague.

One Vintage

This.

Insomnia/boredom