Tom the Monk

There are times when the thought of being a monk is very appealing to me. It seems that everything I have been reading lately has something to do with monks and monasteries and I'm sure that is what has gotten me thinking this way. I romanticize about living a lonely life in a small cloister, clinging precariously to the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Aegean Sea. I would live in solitude contemplating prayer, devotion to God, meditation of the Word and growing vegetables.

Sometimes I imagine being in a monastery so that I would have time to study all of the things I want to study but have no time for. At other times I feel like chucking all the academic pursuits and simply doing manual labor day after day. You know, some of the best known wines we have today were developed by monks.

After thinking wistfully about becoming a monk for a few moments I get jerked back to reality. I wouldn't be any good as a monk. In spite of my enjoyment of being alone I would miss people to much. Fellow monks just wouldn't cut it. I know I would grow restless couped up in a monastery after about a week or two. The world is just too big of an adventure to miss. After all, God created it for a reason. I just need to enjoy it the way He intended.