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Retreat to Reflection By Keith Reynolds |
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 A
couple of weeks ago I spent some time on retreat in a little
hermitage in the middle of a farm field. This is a place I
return to every now and again to find some solitude, silence and
sacred space. Often surprised by what I experience during these
retreats, I am consistently struck by what happens when my life
becomes simpler. During the time in this little cabin without hydro or running water, my life simplifies. I go to bed after it turns dark. I wake up when the sun rises. I don't eat as much, due to my body's shifting metabolism.
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I'm not checking e-mails or
wondering if my cell phone is going to ring. There is more time for
thinking, for long walks, for noticing the landscape, listening to the
birds, basking in the light of a full moon, or hearing a mouse running
in the walls at 3:00 a.m. There are many movements around the world looking at a simpler life, sustainability and a more intentional way of doing things. The goal is not some kind of triumphalism showing others how great we are in all of our simplicity. Nor is it for us to make ourselves miserable by getting rid of stuff. Within these times we are living stirs a deeper courage to do less with less. To have our lives be more with less. I'm not imagining us living in some utopian simplicity, but I do wonder about the excess in my life. Maybe you do too? In this wondering, perhaps you and I will be encouraged to act and respond. There is no time like the present. |
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