To the untrained eye, the monastic life seems full of constant, unchanging things. The cycle of "pray, eat, work" is a visible anchor to every monastic as is one’s unchanging day to day wear, if one chooses to wear the monastic habit.
But, if you were to metaphorically peel back the outer layers as if you were peeling an onion, the only real constants in a sincerely lived monastic life are God and change.
Each of us is called daily, through our prayer and work, to change and to grow both in spirit and in character, into the person that our Creator intended us to be. This often means venturing outside of our comfort zones into new and uncharted territory, to a place where vulnerability and uncertainty reign supreme.
Even as I write this, change is in full force in my life. I’m in the process of moving from the place that has served as my hermitage for over three years, to a place I am familiar with but do not consider my home. My long term relationship is taking its dying breaths and I will be taking on a vow that I have not professed since 2006 - the vow of celibacy.
I’m inclined to think that my Creator has life lessons in store for me. That despite my best efforts to resist growing in the direction I am going, the Spirit has found a way, yet again, to turn things on their head and to instruct my heart in things yet unlearned.
I fully intend to approach this new phase of my life with curiosity and open-mindedness, in hopes that these attitudes will make the lessons I am due to learn as painless as possible.
