Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Desert Sojourn

This morning the Tucson house leaves for a five day retreat in Cascabel. This is a community that exceeds what most people think of when they hear the word "rural." It takes about half an hour on a dirt road to get there, they grow most of their own food, live largely off the grid and you won't find anyone else around there for miles and miles. We will be completing a sojourn in which we hike up to some secluded spot, pitch a tent and then sit there for three days or so. It's a chance to clear the noise out of our heads and to see what thoughts are there when there are no other distractions to be found. I'm bringing granola bars, water, bagels, a jar of peanut butter and some trail mix, but nothing that will take a lot of time to prepare. I'll also take a Bible and a journal to reflect and record thoughts. In the past people have had a whole variety of experiences on this trip, from extreme boredom, to deep revelations about oneself or one's calling. I'll write about my experience when we return on Sunday. Cheers until then.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Steve, In today's Pentecost Sunday bulletin was the flyer about your adventures in Arizona. I'm glad you are having fun. The line reading "despite the relative simplicity of our lifestyle" seems disingenuous to me. For the average person being connected to the entire world via the internet is a highly complicated system of communication. Your maintaining a blog, while all well and good, seriously begs the question of a "simple" lifestyle.

Steve Gillard said...

Thanks for the comment, though I have to take issue with what you said. That word "relative" is important in the phrase that you quoted. You have to understand the life that I was coming from: a suburban lifestyle in the affluent northern VA area. Compared with this life, with cars, computers, highly-educated government employees, etc. the life in Tucson was relatively simple. We received a small stipend each month ($300), rode bikes, and focused on community.

I also take issue with the characterization of this experience as "having fun." This seems to be condescending, as if we weren't actually doing any good in Tucson, or actually coming across anything challenging. Please visit the YAV house in Tucson before jumping to such conclusions.

One final point has to deal with the nature of simplicity. Does living simply mean that you have to sacrifice every luxury that brings pleasure, even if it involves technology? I am of the opinion that this is not what simplicity means. Being a Luddite and living a simple lifestyle are separate things. It would be a shame to give up things that bring someone joy in the name of simplicity. The point is not to be a martyr or cause undue pain to oneself; the point is more to rid yourself of things that distract one from living a life in community and experiencing God. I feel like I can have access to the internet and not sacrifice these ideals.

Again, thanks for the comment, it gave me the chance to think through a response.