Sounds interesting . . . and familiar. We modern people love to read books about monastic life and the middle ages, it seems. I have long thought that there are many lessons from Medieval living that we could benefit from today. I'll have to give this a read.
My favorite Amazon review of this book was this: "3.0 out of 5 stars—this is probably good, but my mind wandered off too soon . . . "
LOL. I can see why the monks just disappeared to remote islands and did their things. I'm not sure society wants to be saved.
One trick of course is that escaping to an island or the desert doesn’t really solve the problem. We bring ourselves wherever we go. Basil the Great lived as a monk for a while and compared it to being sick on a ship and trying to find relief by getting into the dinghy being towed behind. We just bring our sea sickness with us.
They identified Sloth, the Noonday Devil, not just as not doing things, but as not doing what you ought to do. So they knew you can be very busy and yet slothful.
If you have a chance (if there is a solid monastic community near you) I highly recommend becoming an oblate. My husband I and became Benedictine oblates at Mt. Angel Abbey 3 hours north of us and joining your life to a monastic community/rhythm is TREMENDOUSLY helpful. Don’t just read about it, learn from the monks and nuns doing it!
Thanks, Joel! I've added your review to Week 4 ("The Noonday Demon") of my upcoming undergraduate course, Desert Solitaire: Christian Monasticism and the Ascetic Tradition. https://q.utoronto.ca/courses/410202
Kyle, that’s wonderful. Thanks! That sounds like a fascinating class. I’d love to hear how the students react to this world—it’s both totally foreign and weirdly familiar.
Jeremy Bentham’s will specified that he should be stuffed, dressed and placed on permanent display at his university. A likely-apocryphal story suggests that he wished to attend meetings of the University Board in perpetuity. My response was that he was negating one of the most serious positives concerning death.
I’m trying to get out of as many meetings as possible. I can’t imagine a more purgatory-like afterlife than attending meetings when I’m dead. God save us.
Sounds interesting . . . and familiar. We modern people love to read books about monastic life and the middle ages, it seems. I have long thought that there are many lessons from Medieval living that we could benefit from today. I'll have to give this a read.
My favorite Amazon review of this book was this: "3.0 out of 5 stars—this is probably good, but my mind wandered off too soon . . . "
LOL. I can see why the monks just disappeared to remote islands and did their things. I'm not sure society wants to be saved.
We probably don’t. We hardly ever think about it! Monks do have a lot to teach us: https://www.millersbookreview.com/p/dear-abbot-monastic-advice-for-modern
One trick of course is that escaping to an island or the desert doesn’t really solve the problem. We bring ourselves wherever we go. Basil the Great lived as a monk for a while and compared it to being sick on a ship and trying to find relief by getting into the dinghy being towed behind. We just bring our sea sickness with us.
It’s tough being a human.
Yeah. Seems that way.
They identified Sloth, the Noonday Devil, not just as not doing things, but as not doing what you ought to do. So they knew you can be very busy and yet slothful.
Totally. I think a lot of what passes for hyper productivity is just that.
If you have a chance (if there is a solid monastic community near you) I highly recommend becoming an oblate. My husband I and became Benedictine oblates at Mt. Angel Abbey 3 hours north of us and joining your life to a monastic community/rhythm is TREMENDOUSLY helpful. Don’t just read about it, learn from the monks and nuns doing it!
I’ve never visited a monastery, but several of my friends have. I need to remedy that. Thanks for the encouragement!
Too late
LOL. Quite probably.
Thanks, Joel! I've added your review to Week 4 ("The Noonday Demon") of my upcoming undergraduate course, Desert Solitaire: Christian Monasticism and the Ascetic Tradition. https://q.utoronto.ca/courses/410202
Kyle, that’s wonderful. Thanks! That sounds like a fascinating class. I’d love to hear how the students react to this world—it’s both totally foreign and weirdly familiar.
Jeremy Bentham’s will specified that he should be stuffed, dressed and placed on permanent display at his university. A likely-apocryphal story suggests that he wished to attend meetings of the University Board in perpetuity. My response was that he was negating one of the most serious positives concerning death.
I’m trying to get out of as many meetings as possible. I can’t imagine a more purgatory-like afterlife than attending meetings when I’m dead. God save us.