from where comes the angst?
this is a good question
people living together display angst
the stated fact that due to the discoveries
of modern science we now live in a world that
seems far more inconsequential and far more random and negligible
than previous generations were wont to admit
is there a reason for 6.5 billion people to be
hustling about in the world today
why does it matter whether or not we can see the moons of jupiter
i'm going to be real here
and then depart
i am being drawn to mass
by the bells of advent
perhaps the only question is -
how does a community sustain its
attention -
and to what ??
a routine of sleep rising prayer sustenance
quiet work worship reading play walks naps
what else
i enjoy the quiet meal
i take solace in the quiet of my cell
simple necessary work suits me fine
a community is a place of harbor
but also a place of inquiry
a place to accept the challenge to know oneself
amongst others
the inherent integrity of a community is something never to be taken for granted lest it lose its very integrity
a community is always in the same general location
as the rest of the known universe
just some jots of thought
on 12/11/2010
thx for the jots
ReplyDeletewords worthy of some pondering
the challenge to know oneself among others
careful attention to integrity within community
lately i've begun to think of my department
more as a community
something i've perhaps neglected to do
the entire 20 years that i've been there
i suppose a dept. could be considered a community -
ReplyDeletehowever i tend to view with some skepticism
the necessity of being in a category of any kind
perhaps what i have found most freeing in benedictine life is the fact that we are willing to say in worship at mass at table we are one we are community
but in terms of the way each of us work it out for ourselves there is plenty of leeway and freedom
but i speak as something of a loner
i've always been so
and it is great to know that a healthy community
can accomodate even a loner
someone who isn't "categorized" in any certain way
i've even found "guitar societies" a little hard to take
for me it is the instrument of solitary struggle
OK it is a rhythm thing too
shall the community have guitars?
that's the only question
jh