Social Distance Like a Monk and Nun
by Ida Williams It has been a month. 30 days since I drove up the mountain road and saw the “closed” sign. 30 days since I have seen my co-workers, the dogs, and the monastics. There have been emails and phone calls, but no face-to-face time. For me, there has been work for the monastery to be done, and then there are things around home. I have my horses (very well-groomed horses), I bake, clean, make phone calls to old friends, family, and people in my community who may need something picked up from the grocery store, and I go a little stir-crazy. It is easy to do these days. What have I learned from the monks and nuns that can help me live this (temporary) cloistered life? Turn off the television. The monastics have a television in each of their monasteries, but it is not on from the moment they get up until they go to bed at night. It is not needed for background noise, blah, blah, blah. Enjoy the silence. Turn on music. Liste