Pilgrim – Writer – Teacher
Airport departure lounges are usually an ordeal with a distinct “Oh, get on with it…” vibe.
A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to find the new terminal at Hyderabad in India is a little different: it is very swish, modern and unhassled and there’s also the bright idea of one-to-one meditation tuition for departing passengers (courtesy of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living organisation).
Great idea!
This week’s intentional #ServiceShirk was spent in the company of St Anthony of Egypt. I read James Cowan’s splendid account of time at St Anthony’s Monastery – Desert Father: A Journey in the Wilderness with Saint Anthony (Shambhala Publications, 2004). This recalls the life and legend of the ascetic St Anthony and explores the practice of the current desert hermit Fr Lazarus Al-Anthony, originally from Australia, who lives a 21st century version of Anthony’s discipline up on the mountain beyond the monastery.
I read mainly in silence, fittingly, but took time out to listen to the evocative David Ensemble’s recording of Coptic Hymns (on Spotify).
Later in the day I rewatched the short film on Fr Lazarus’s life “The Last Anchorite” on vimeo.com and followed up with the first of two extended interviews he gave from St Anthony’s cave to the Coptic Youth Channel (available on YouTube).
It has been a day of wonderful reminders and discoveries; I’ll have another desert day next Sunday, I think.