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Silence, solitude and simplicity at SSJE

6/28/2022

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 As the expression starts, I can’t wait… to go on another retreat at SSJE (see previous blog posts). Here is  a word or two about the silence, solitude and simplicity I experienced for three days.
     Silence: Silence was the expectation in the guesthouse kitchen and dining room (where we got our own breakfast), in the public rooms and garden, and in the refectory where we ate our noon and evening meals with the brothers. 
    During those community meals there was no conversation, but, it was not silent. In keeping with the monastic tradition, one of the brothers read aloud. The choice was not some theological treaties of old, but a sociological study of current interest: Better Boys, Better Men, The New Masculinity that Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resilency, by Andrew Reiner (2021). (This reading choice clearly exemplifies the mission of this community of Episcopal monks  “to critically engage with contemporary culture.”)
    Solitude: my own room, my own cell with a bed, desk, easy chair,  and sink. I could have been in comfortable solitude there all day. The public rooms were  empty except for breakfast in the morning. I was usually the only one in the large garden. The chapel was empty except for times of service. 
    Simplicity: consistency was the highlight of simplicity.  I participated in the daily office with the monks; morning prayer at 6; Eucharist at 8; noonday prayer at 12:30; evening prayer at 6; and compline at 8:30. The order of scripture readings is complex, but it was enough to close my eyes and listen. 
    I kept the rest of my schedule simple: walks along the Charles, a trip to the Mt. Auburn Cemetery, a visit to the Fogg Museum. Simplicity was up to me. Simplicity is up to me going forward.
     (To honor privacy, I didn't take pictures in side the 
monastery.)

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Flunking silence, solitude and simplicity

4/4/2022

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     I flunked silence, solitude, and simplicity on my way home on Friday. The flight from Florence went well, as did my trek through the CDG Paris airport. The 1:30 PM flight to Boston was a little delayed, but no problem. As we neared Ireland the pilot announced that due to a little mechanical problem we would be turning back to CDG, but no problem. Fine with me. We were told that Air France personnel would meet the plane and  help us rebook our flight, but no problem. That was at 6 PM. Then the problem began. 
     Five plus hours later, at 11:30 PM, along with two young women who had taken me under their wing, we were in a taxi to an airport hotel twenty minutes away (it’s a HUGE airport). The following day, after comfy but rather unrestful sleep, a full breakfast with my new friends, and a taxi back to the terminal, we boarded the 1:30 flight  and made it to Boston 15 minutes early. No problem. Clearly Air France flunked. 

                                        A picture tells a thousand words. ​

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A picture tells a thousand words.
     That being noted, I flunked keeping the silence, solitude, and simplicity that l long for and want to create in my life. At times during the five hour wait in line,  I spoke up with annoyance and impatience, forgetting my calm, my zen, my loving spirit. In my defense, however, along with my travel companions, I also remembered my gratitudes. Everyone of us was able to stop being self-involved, to recall the Ukrainians, either fleeing or hiding from death guns and bombs.
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Summer visits made simple

6/30/2019

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PictureSimple chicken tetrazzini ready for the freezer.
     ​With the onset of summer, many of us will be having visitors and perhaps doing some visiting ourselves. How can we experience silence, solitude, and simplicity during these times, when, as in my case, family is coming for a week? To begin with, my family is easy and pretty much tension free, which makes it a exponentially easier to tap into the silence, solitude, and simplicity that is deep within us. But we have to be able to that regardless of the circumstances.
    There are practical things we can do, which may be enough: carve out times for silence and solitude, and plan simple meals. All this sound so obvious, which it is, and yet I need such a reminder so unnecessary frenzy doesn’t develop.
     One more thing, your visitors will welcome some silence and solitude, and appreciate that you, as hostess, are keeping it simple.

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Sitting in silence, solitude, and simplicity

5/28/2019

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I am sitting with my 96 year old friend. It is quiet here; she is not speaking and neither am I. We are together in a deep holy place, each in our own solitude. Everything is simple; the only thing to do is be. The window flowers offer hope.
Those of us who long for silence, solitude, and simplicity can always find meaning in our lives. Just accompany someone who also longs for the same thing.



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The silence, solitude, and simplicity of music

5/12/2019

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​    Yesterday I attended the Spring Concert at my church, Memorial Congregational Church, just up the street from where I live. Obviously, music is not silent, nor performed in solitude, and certainly not simple. And yet, as I sat in the sanctuary I felt those three longing being fulfilled.  Silence, solitude and simplicity are a states of being, not a states of doing.
    Our choir was joined by singers from the community. They were exquisite, allowing me to close my eyes and sit in that very silence, solitude, and simplicity that I long for. Clearly, silence is not lack of sound; solitude is not being alone; simplicity is not without complexity. 

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Always have hope

2/18/2019

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PictureMy church in the distance.
​    First of all, a update on the various components of my silent, solitude and simple life on this snowy Monday morning.
• Family is doing great: healthy, proactive, positive. I’m very grateful for this.
• Church is doing great. It is one of the most welcoming places I know.
• Friends. Some doing great, but not all. Regardless, they are trying to stay proactive, positive, and faithful as they deal with health and family issues.
 
     Secondly, a few headlines from my world of silence, solitude, and simplicity.
• I’m trying not to get drawn into everyday politics but I must admit it is a challenge not to turn on the T.V. and tune into what I call, ‘My Sources.’
• I give myself an A in reading. This year I’ve read 12 books; only 68 to go to meet my 2019 Goodreads Challenge of 80 books.
• The front room is clear of stuff we don’t want. If we ever decide to move, what’s left can be boxed up in a couple of hours.
• My upcoming trip in April to Italy with my daughter and granddaughter is competing for center stage with all the other good things in my life.
• Every morning I start my day naming five things for which I am grateful. The usual list, which I learned from my mom, holds steady: family, friends, health, life and faith. But there are always others. 

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The silence of clocks ticking

2/13/2019

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​It is silent this morning as the ice on my driveway melts from last night’s snow and rain. All I can hear, as I sit in the sunroom (no sun), is the rhythmic tick of four clocks that my husband is trying to get in sync. Tinkering with old clocks has been a hobby of his for many years. It is a meditative hobby, taking patience, and encouraging an atmosphere of active silence, solitude, and simplicity. 

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Relaxing into silence, solitude, and simplicity~

2/7/2019

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    ​It feels like I haven’t posted about silence, solitude, and simplicity lately. Well, at least not in that simple way with a comment such as, “I’m (just) sitting in the silence, solitude, and simplicity today.” Somehow the word ‘just’ is essential in conveying my feeling because it gets rid of the need to explain or quality my mood.
     Perhaps right now I should follow my own advice and stop writing. Before I do, however, I want to share something about the accompanying photo of my couch, knitting, book, and pillows from Florence,. Arranging those items brought me an added wave of contentment, and so I encourage you to do the same. Gather a few of your favorite things on your comfy resting spot, and see how you are led to relax into silence, solitude, and simplicity; live into it, if even for five minutes. 

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Unofficial official New Year's Day

1/7/2019

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     The New Year has unofficially officially begun. Usually sometime unofficial comes about before the official time, but not the New Year. Until Epiphany on January 6th, Christmas lingers, and that means last year lingers.
     We didn’t decorate for Christmas, so there is nothing to put away, which is often a sign that the New Year has officially begun. Then there are the New Year’ resolutions. We want to start them on January 1st, but that doesn’t always happen. Who wants to eat raw broccoli without the dip on New Year’s Day?
     I don’t make a long resolution list; I have my usual ones and leave it at that.However, over the past few days a new one, which undoubtedly has to do with my on-going longing for silence, solitude and simplicity, has surfaced. Keep conversations concise…don’t go on and on, and don’t enable others to do so.
Oops, I’d better end this right now!

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Silence, solitude, and simplicity in busy times~

11/5/2018

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With all the action going on these days—Boston’s World Series win and the midterm elections coming up tomorrow—I’ve decided to take the day for silence, solitude, and simplicity. Reading, writing, meditating, knitting, and visiting some friends who are now spending their days in assisted living facilities.
I tell you this not because I think YOU need to settle into life’s big picture, but because I know that’s what I need.
Memories of wisdom from friends and family help. My mom would be telling me to go out and do something for someone else. A friend recently told me that when she gets up she tells herself, “Let me not make this day about me.” My husband and I, when we remember, start the day offering a couple of gratitudes, one for the world, one for ourselves. Reading, writing, knitting, and meditating always settles me down.
All of these actions touch on silence, solitude, and simplicity; not always out there in my everyday life, but in my heart.

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