In "St. Jerome Penitent" by Leonardo da Vinci, the famous hermit and church father who lived between the fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian is on his knees, with an eye upwards. A position that expresses the thirst and the humility of his soul. Jerome spent three years as a hermit in the desert and then went into seclusion in the cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where he ended his life is now dedicated to prayer. It's just one of many sensitive souls who have felt the need to take leave the world to grow the best vegetable garden of the soul. It's called retreat. The Marquis of Vauvenargues wrote that "loneliness is the spirit of what the diet is to the body." In fact, in an era dominated by psychophysical bulimia, as well as uncertainty, it is helpful to undergo a detoxification diet. We are tired and disappointed. We need a pause for reflection to be silent around and within us, rediscovering the beauty of the inner dialogue and to distance themselves from the worries of everyday life. The bow can not always be tense. To find the balance we have to compromise to have the strength to pull the plug. When you're alone with yourself you can not lie, reveals the truth that yearns and fear together. To be alone with himself the protagonist of a story by Kafka went so far as to dig a burrow underground and live there. It is not the case. So what? I suggest a "flight from the world" like I did in February 2009. I wanted to reconnect with the divine interference disturbed by many materials. I decided, in agreement with my family, to retire for seven days in the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. I was the only guest of the strict secular Benedictine abbey in Tuscany. It was cold and snowing. Only the wolves could enjoy the silence and the chill when I fell. After a week under a fast food, praying, meditating, giving me readings uplifting and solitary walks in the woods. I adapted to the rhythms and the rigid discipline of the monks, so my day was marked by the Rule of Saint Benedict and prohibitions imposed by the secular regime of seclusion. The day began at 6.15 am. Participated, together with the Benedictines, the Office of Readings, in the crypt of the church, the reading of the Hours, which provides the Night, at Lauds and Vespers, followed by mass. My participation in the liturgy ended the evening with Compline Prayer. Extraordinary experience of my stay in the heart of the Gregorian chant of the monks, to whom I tentatively associated with the lightness of the soul, the bliss and moments where my spirit soared in the slim size. Fasting is not weighed on me. When the body detoxifies and rests, the spirit can soar. Nor do I weighed the insulation. For a week I did not know anything about what was happening in the world and at home. I went regenerated. My experience is not unique. Many souls are restless or tired looking restaurant in the Christian hermits in the ashram or Hindu or Buddhist, and there he found the strength to reinterpret the events of his life, to converse with God and "reset" their existential level. The heart of every man is a small, secret Mount Athos, and we could find the peace that we find ourselves traveling in it. But I think it is essential to physically isolate to cancel the background noise of the world, from which we are confused to the point of no longer hearing the voice of conscience. It would be nice, from time to time, listen to the sound of the bells and purifying of the song chanted. In times like these, marked by an uproar discouraging, we should retire for a few days if we rise to new life.
Editorial published on 3/2/2011:
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