flowerbug
Garden Master
but really i should call this hermit's rest or something like that. 
some years ago i contemplated joining a monastery - except there's a few problems with that for me. i don't much like rules, i absolutely am not a morning person and i'm not very religious.
http://www.societystjohn.com/index.php
they were recruiting though and i spent a lot of time visiting them and helping out when i could. still though, i just could not see myself being "under someone else's discipline". i first met them when they were getting started and were in the small place they had and they were getting ready to expand the place so they could have more than just the two of them. i also got to know them more as they were learning Tai Chi and we would go and practice with them on the beach.
they had some rules back then, called vows. one i liked was the vow of stability. being a homebody that fits well. so i've adopted it here for myself along with some of the other things i do like about the monastic life. i live simple. i stick to my tasks at hand. i don't go out and around much.
at first it was just the two of them there. so at least one of them had to go out from time to time to get supplies and do other things as needed. it was very rare that both of them would go out together but they made the decision that learning Tai Chi was important enough that they would come to attend the class on campus.
now i'm not sure how many there are in residence. it has changed a great deal in the many years since i first met them.
at present my job is here in helping out in the gardens and whatever else needs to be done. retrofitting, reengineering what i can, making this an easier place to be, growing food, fondling beans, protection... it is all part of the whole. i am a support person. Mom is the reason and i'll be here as long as she needs me. she took care of me as a kid, i can return the favors.
longer term, i'm never really sure what i will do next. i may end up just staying here. i may not.
at present Mom is back to her sewing/winter routine. she makes lap quilts for veterans and hospice (last year almost 400 of them) and quilts for people. on nice days we putter around outside. after the ground freezes we'll try to walk more up and down the road. i am doing more reading and writing.
sometime i may get back to working on programs or computer stuff, but that is not a major priority in my life any longer. if i ever get stuck inside someplace with nothing to read i may break out again. i need a new computer first. this one is creaking along...
to return to monastic thoughts for the moment, this past spring one of the founder's passed away up there and i wonder how everyone else is doing, yet i know they'll keep going. they have a pretty nice location there and a good business for what they do. that aspect was also appealing to me (cooking jams, breads, goodies, etc.). that was a great time for mid-winter quiet when the shop was closed for the season, but we'd try out new recipes and sit around and talk and listen to good music. once in a while they had their religious duties to attend to. i was not interested in those much so did not participate. they were really good about not pressuring me and just accepted me for who i was. but yes, they were also trying to recruit me. they wanted anyone who'd join them.
now i'm in a different place and i'm glad i can do much the same thing here. yet up there, on the shore of Lake Superior, it was quite a remote world. one so very remote now i've moved away, but many fond memories. i carry a lot of that peace with me still.
um, this isn't very organised, but i'll leave it as this for an introduction...
for more details of this place i'm hermiting about you can find them at:
http://www.anthive.com/
some years ago i contemplated joining a monastery - except there's a few problems with that for me. i don't much like rules, i absolutely am not a morning person and i'm not very religious.
http://www.societystjohn.com/index.php
they were recruiting though and i spent a lot of time visiting them and helping out when i could. still though, i just could not see myself being "under someone else's discipline". i first met them when they were getting started and were in the small place they had and they were getting ready to expand the place so they could have more than just the two of them. i also got to know them more as they were learning Tai Chi and we would go and practice with them on the beach.
they had some rules back then, called vows. one i liked was the vow of stability. being a homebody that fits well. so i've adopted it here for myself along with some of the other things i do like about the monastic life. i live simple. i stick to my tasks at hand. i don't go out and around much.
at first it was just the two of them there. so at least one of them had to go out from time to time to get supplies and do other things as needed. it was very rare that both of them would go out together but they made the decision that learning Tai Chi was important enough that they would come to attend the class on campus.
now i'm not sure how many there are in residence. it has changed a great deal in the many years since i first met them.
at present my job is here in helping out in the gardens and whatever else needs to be done. retrofitting, reengineering what i can, making this an easier place to be, growing food, fondling beans, protection... it is all part of the whole. i am a support person. Mom is the reason and i'll be here as long as she needs me. she took care of me as a kid, i can return the favors.
longer term, i'm never really sure what i will do next. i may end up just staying here. i may not.
at present Mom is back to her sewing/winter routine. she makes lap quilts for veterans and hospice (last year almost 400 of them) and quilts for people. on nice days we putter around outside. after the ground freezes we'll try to walk more up and down the road. i am doing more reading and writing.
sometime i may get back to working on programs or computer stuff, but that is not a major priority in my life any longer. if i ever get stuck inside someplace with nothing to read i may break out again. i need a new computer first. this one is creaking along...
to return to monastic thoughts for the moment, this past spring one of the founder's passed away up there and i wonder how everyone else is doing, yet i know they'll keep going. they have a pretty nice location there and a good business for what they do. that aspect was also appealing to me (cooking jams, breads, goodies, etc.). that was a great time for mid-winter quiet when the shop was closed for the season, but we'd try out new recipes and sit around and talk and listen to good music. once in a while they had their religious duties to attend to. i was not interested in those much so did not participate. they were really good about not pressuring me and just accepted me for who i was. but yes, they were also trying to recruit me. they wanted anyone who'd join them.
now i'm in a different place and i'm glad i can do much the same thing here. yet up there, on the shore of Lake Superior, it was quite a remote world. one so very remote now i've moved away, but many fond memories. i carry a lot of that peace with me still.
um, this isn't very organised, but i'll leave it as this for an introduction...
for more details of this place i'm hermiting about you can find them at:
http://www.anthive.com/
