Secular Monastic?

Well, the question was finally raised - what do I mean when I refer to myself as a "secular monastic." I am looking forward to my good cyber friend, Maria, to see what comments she may have to add as the term resonated for her as well. A good friend who is now an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church was also once a Benedictine monk. After many conversations about how I choose to live my life, he looked at me and stated, "Well, you're a secular monastic." What does this mean to me? The question was raised by a new Face Book/Twitter Friend and this will be my attempt at an answer. Point 1: Solitude. I highly value my solitude, I live alone, in the woods, with my four dogs and two rabbits, and bird feeders. I do not have television and only a small alarm clock radio. I do, however, have my lap top, hence the image above left. I have an enormous library of books, DVDs and music. Quite often, though, my house is filled with blessed silence. In the summer, I sit in my hammock chair - "my meditation chair," I call it - and swing in the breeze on my porch and watch the birds and hear the wind blow through the trees. Point 2: Simplicity. I am appalled at the out of control consumer culture in which we all live and participate. Although I admit to valuing my things - you need to understand that the bulk of the furniture in my home belonged to my paternal grandmother - the bedroom set they purchased in 1937 when they were married, her dining room set/hutch, etc. I try to spend less and less each year - though I admit books, DVDs and music are still a weakness, but I think splurging a bit on a personal library isn't all bad. I also try to eat whole foods and local as much as possible. The farm from which I get most of my meat and vegetables is just a mile or so down the road. Point 3: Celibacy. I lived a rather debauched youth in my 20's & early 30's - I have no shame for it, I think we over emphasize sex from both directions -as a consumer selling tool and as a taboo puritanical no-no. Sex just is. That said, I have reached a point in my life where I choose to be no longer sexually active. Sex is complicated so in the spirit of Point 2, keep life simple. Point 4: Prayer. This is more tricky and a definite shift from some of the definitions of secular monasticism that I have Googled tonight. I do not pray daily orders. For me prayer is a state of mind - a being aware of the presence of God - and for me the presence of God is pure Love in the present moment always. The key then is to live in the moment, live in the now. I work very hard to refrain from waiting for the future to happen or from wallowing in the past. The only reality is the now - everything else is in our heads as subjective memory or anticipatory future. BE with the beings around you and feel the Love that is God that exists between all living things. I find it easiest to be this way now in my state of being "Happily Single." That state of being free from the pull of romantic desire, longing after the other or pining over a lost other bundles up the Love and hoards it for that elusive other - the all encompassing love fades in comparison and we miss the Love that is all around. The Peace of the Lord Be With You Always. Amen.