Thursday, 15 November 2012

Being one bread one body is a bitch (at first)

I once had a conversation with an ex-benedictine.  No, that isn't the start of a limerick.  I really did.  It was just as I had decided to go to live with the Franciscans and he smiled when I said how much I had enjoyed my trial week.


"Oh it is marvellous when you first enter a religious community... and then reality kicks in."  Those weren't his exact words, but they are a pretty fair paraphrase.  "At first everything is glorious and then the people and the work get to you."



Thomas comprehensively hits the brick wall at high speed


Now, a lot of what I have written thus far has been about how fantastic life here is.  And it is.  But things have been hard as well.  There are times when I have wanted to hit people in the face with a shovel (in fact, Br Damian once offered to let me punch him in lieu of someone else - I declined his kind offer), either because they were not in the same place as me on that day... or because they just pissed me off.


And the work hasn't all been entirely rosy either.  You may have detected the intensity of leaf sweeping in my daily routine over the last month or so.  At times it was an excellent lesson in humility.  I learned to empathise with the Old Testament character Ruth, who out of fidelity to her adopted family follows her mother-in-law into a foreign country where they survive by gleaning left-over corn.  I also learned to empathise and pray for the people all over the world who earn a living by sorting through the things we deem 'rubbish' in the same way that I was picking leaves from the gravel paths.


On the other hand, it forced me to identify with people with awful jobs precisely because my jobs were mostly awful to do.  And quickly the 'romance' and 'thought-provokingness' of the tasks wore off and I found myself getting pretty spectacularly demotivated.



Deal with it the English way: a chat and a cup of Earl Grey


In a religious community, as hopefully with any community, the reality is that people don't want their brothers and sisters in daily life getting miserable or angry with each other.  Urgent action taken on my end: gracious listening and giving came immediately from those I spoke to.


As much as the Church in its many forms often makes me want to weep, I am amazed by how Christ-like the individuals around me so often are.  Three members of the community and one in particular have put up with having their ears bent with my frustration.  And they have listened, thought, and given back to me with love... and a good few hugs.


Because of them I was able to go and resolve my problems with the people concerned.  And I am no longer faced with a bleak work period each day, nor do I want to punch (as many) people in the face as I did.


At communion there is a wonderful moment when everyone says together "Though we are many, we are one body because we all share in one bread."  At Hilfield I have been utterly amazed by how much people are willing to truly live as 'one body,' getting pissed off with each other, being occasionally disappointed and annoyed with life, but sharing and assisting each other through those moments in a way that is quite humbling.




Ending that very serious post on a flippant note: Hilfield in the Snow


Francis was promoted to pope

The sheep didn't seem to mind


 Some of the trees looked scary

Some were stunning

Dawn, a visiting trainee Baptist minister, was loving it
(She managed to get away on her motorbike later that day)

Brs Damian, Andrew and Hugh trying to avoid going arse over apex on the ice in front of St Francis House

Either Br Hugh has insulated our house really well, or the heating just wasn't on again

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