the return

what is it like to return to a place where one has learned to pray
to experience the phenomenon of going away
and then returning

i must first state that i do not have the words to describe this
i cannot even begin to try
anyword i may speak or write is closer to a tear
the comfort one gains from the depths of the monotonous
continual repetitive antics of the monks is something
that defies proper explanation
many have tried
it all sounds rather maudlin after awhile
i mean people pick up on these monastic chant things and go all agog agaga

it is something like being a little river duck who steps out of the river for awhile
to walk around in the grass and find some insects or some sweet grass to chew on gets lost for awhile confronts a coyote and a turtle and then scurries back into the water to ride the current for awhile
someday you think you may just fly away but you know yphooou'll always
long to return to the current in the middle of the river

what other idea could i use to illumine the experience
for the vast readership of communitas dies

it is like knowing when the stormy winds blow and the air is cold you have a cape you can put on and it will keep you very warm

if one has never travelled away from a praying community
it would be almost impossible to describe to that someone what it is like
but i should think it is not too terribly different than returning to
the arms of the person you love most
embracing there in the quiet of infinity
and agreeing to be companions along the dusty trail once again

i guess this is the place where tom mixx meets
the hiearchy of the roman catholic church

on your knees tom no more shootin 'em up
get your kicks
with tom mixx
on route sixty six

we all long for our own bed

think of that feeling and then try to translate that feeling to
what it might be like to return to the community

we're suffering over here at communitas dies from various forms of apathy
it's bound to happen

everywhere the spiritual doldrums persist

the tedium of perseverance

!