Really don't like Ben.'s chapters on (blind) obedience (to the abbot and superiors) - not what Placid called obedience at all - he talked about obedience to necessity. And the self serving stuff about the Abbot - i.e. obey me, regardless, and without question. Understandable given Benedict's early experience with the Saraibites and gyrovagues. Humility is (in places, a lot) pretty creepy too. And his strictures against laughter. Silence is good, and the chapter on good works; and taking counsel; and care of tools and community property. Confessing all to the Abbot - really?
But I seem to remember the monk at Ampleforth giving the retreat with Terry Doyle being rather good on the 12 degrees of humility. I've got notes in a moleskine somewhere, if I haven't chucked them away. Must sort out my papers.
I should really give up smoking (and leading the young ones in to temptation). Worried we'd left the children to play on their own yesterday - me shopping and Andrew taking M-D to the station, Delyth hiding in the Edspace. They could have got up to anything. Laughing, for instance, and talking loudly (actually I'm the only one who does that, according to Suzanne, then she added John Horgan and Jean Christophe to the list. She was brought up a Catholic, but won't have anything to do with it now. I wonder what she thinks of Jesus, the rabbi?)
I think John Gaskin (Irish John) is older than I realised - quite a wrinkly face, old skin. His father was a priest in Africa. He is in fact 41, and a bit of a gyrovague himself, in a good way, having spent considerable periods of time in a number of monasteries and other religious communities, including Thic nat Than's Plum Village (which he said is very expensive - €300 euros a week). As Suzanne said tonight at supper, everyone seems to be climbing on the religious gravy train (a propos Eckhart Tolle's Greek retreat, at €1200 for a week + €300 a night acommodation!). We're cheap skates - mind you we're only offering gardening and a building site, and meditation 3 times a day.
We stripped the veggie beds of their blankets today, so Jean Christophe could mow. Then cleaned the house. I cooked dinner, which everyone seemed to enjoy. A nice American couple from Texas turned up for a nose around, but wouldn't be invited in and went off for a walk and disappeared. I forgot to mention the sangliers.
I removed the pipes from the downstairs bathroom without the predicted flood (by J-C, who's a bit of a disaster merchant it turns out - always expects the worst, especially when I'm involved). Fitted the new extinguisher and fire blanket next to the cooker - my first duty as Fire Safety Officer. Started sorting out the end of Metanoia, now I've finished it. Locating Chapters 27 to 33, and trying to make sure I have the latest versions. I'll produce a pdf of the new ending and send it out to (interested?!) parties for comments. They will at least know how the story really ends, if they ever bothered to read the first version. I think I'm happy with it - need to read the whole thing and clean it up - a lot of typos in the first 2 or 3 chapters I think. I've written the end I wanted to write, and I'm happy with that. Get it printed, and move on. My essay for Dark Mountain perhaps, or the history of Bonnevaux. Sort of writing that here anyway.
Feeling quite tired. Suzanne said the same, and thought that it was all the excitement of Laurence's visit. They are all very impressed by him. I've asked Henriette to send me copies of the Rule and John Main's book, as recommended by Laurence.
Very cold again tonight. Kept hoping for rain but none came today, mostly sunny and cloudy and windy. We're expecting wet tomorrow and Sunday, which will be good for the veggie patch, and we're all invited to Brigitte and Gerard's for bread making and lunch tomorrow. And meditation there. French Thomas, the gardener, returned today. Poor Rebecca's lost a mate, who was supposed to come here. He topped himself in the Cheddar Gorge yesterday, which isn't far from Frome.
But I seem to remember the monk at Ampleforth giving the retreat with Terry Doyle being rather good on the 12 degrees of humility. I've got notes in a moleskine somewhere, if I haven't chucked them away. Must sort out my papers.
I should really give up smoking (and leading the young ones in to temptation). Worried we'd left the children to play on their own yesterday - me shopping and Andrew taking M-D to the station, Delyth hiding in the Edspace. They could have got up to anything. Laughing, for instance, and talking loudly (actually I'm the only one who does that, according to Suzanne, then she added John Horgan and Jean Christophe to the list. She was brought up a Catholic, but won't have anything to do with it now. I wonder what she thinks of Jesus, the rabbi?)
I think John Gaskin (Irish John) is older than I realised - quite a wrinkly face, old skin. His father was a priest in Africa. He is in fact 41, and a bit of a gyrovague himself, in a good way, having spent considerable periods of time in a number of monasteries and other religious communities, including Thic nat Than's Plum Village (which he said is very expensive - €300 euros a week). As Suzanne said tonight at supper, everyone seems to be climbing on the religious gravy train (a propos Eckhart Tolle's Greek retreat, at €1200 for a week + €300 a night acommodation!). We're cheap skates - mind you we're only offering gardening and a building site, and meditation 3 times a day.
We stripped the veggie beds of their blankets today, so Jean Christophe could mow. Then cleaned the house. I cooked dinner, which everyone seemed to enjoy. A nice American couple from Texas turned up for a nose around, but wouldn't be invited in and went off for a walk and disappeared. I forgot to mention the sangliers.
I removed the pipes from the downstairs bathroom without the predicted flood (by J-C, who's a bit of a disaster merchant it turns out - always expects the worst, especially when I'm involved). Fitted the new extinguisher and fire blanket next to the cooker - my first duty as Fire Safety Officer. Started sorting out the end of Metanoia, now I've finished it. Locating Chapters 27 to 33, and trying to make sure I have the latest versions. I'll produce a pdf of the new ending and send it out to (interested?!) parties for comments. They will at least know how the story really ends, if they ever bothered to read the first version. I think I'm happy with it - need to read the whole thing and clean it up - a lot of typos in the first 2 or 3 chapters I think. I've written the end I wanted to write, and I'm happy with that. Get it printed, and move on. My essay for Dark Mountain perhaps, or the history of Bonnevaux. Sort of writing that here anyway.
Feeling quite tired. Suzanne said the same, and thought that it was all the excitement of Laurence's visit. They are all very impressed by him. I've asked Henriette to send me copies of the Rule and John Main's book, as recommended by Laurence.
Very cold again tonight. Kept hoping for rain but none came today, mostly sunny and cloudy and windy. We're expecting wet tomorrow and Sunday, which will be good for the veggie patch, and we're all invited to Brigitte and Gerard's for bread making and lunch tomorrow. And meditation there. French Thomas, the gardener, returned today. Poor Rebecca's lost a mate, who was supposed to come here. He topped himself in the Cheddar Gorge yesterday, which isn't far from Frome.
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