Balcony

It is interesting for me to sit up in the balcony, cut off from the rest of the congregation; if you can call the guests and monks a congregation. The lady hermit, when she is at the monastery, sits in the balcony. There is a type solitude one finds by sitting there that is not readily available by sitting with others who are also at mass.

By choosing to sit in the balcony I cause to occur a solitude that is self-imposed, and very much naked before God. There are times I simply need to kneel for most of the liturgy, and there are times that I need to sit quietly, composed. When I choose to sit with someone during mass, then I am present to them spiritually. No matter how it's looked at, if I sit with other people, then my spirit is mixing freely with theirs. If I sit alone, in as much solitude as can be got, then there is a chance that my spirit will mix more freely with God! Could that be the driving force of solitary life?