Solitude

From time to time, usually when things are the busiest, I find myself drawing back from media.

Don't get me wrong - I love media: old-fashioned, new, social, whatever - I love how we are able to share and receive information in the blink of an eye through so many different channels. It really is great and can be an incredibly good thing.

But sometimes, for me, it can be too much. I have shows on my DVR that are waiting to be watched; my Twitter feed never stops growing; Instapaper is full of articles I intend to read at some point; there are books I want to read and music I want to hear …

… it's all there and, sometimes, it's all too much.

While it's great to be able to take in so much information, I must constantly remind myself that, in the end, there is a relationship that is at the center of who I am. That relationship with God is, ultimately, the only important thing.

In moods like this, I empathize with those first monks who went out into the desert or into caves - they sought to give themselves completely to pursing the Lord in prayer.

We could argue that there must also be service to the world - and that is true, there is a place for the active and contemplative lives in the Church - but all of us, whether we live in a cave or in a suburb, need to have some part of our life that is a little monastic cell - a place where the only thing on our mind is the Love that never changes.