One of the first things I noticed when it got dark my first day back at the monastery, is the electric lights inside the monastery. They are much brighter than in years past. Why? Then monks are aging. Eyes grow weaker. Those dark cloister halls are not so dark anymore. Because of at the aging of the community we might not cut hay this year. Surgery and recovery prevented one monk from getting the tractors ready for haying. There is a lot of winter maintenance necessary before you hay. Plus, the market for hay is not very good now. Drought has devastated the herds. No cows. Hay stays in barn. Change happens. Some things, like eyesight, you adjust. Some things like surgery and bad hay markets, you endure. We need to keep this in mind when changes happen in our own lives. Some things we survive. Not everything is solved by technology.
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No young replacements coming in as there were after WWII and Seven Story Mountain when they were almost lined up at the door at Gesthamanti in Kentucky. Probably the effect of actually facing death while fighting and then Merton's inspiration.People age and there is a decline --sadly--in capabilities. Big change in life style---entitlement versus sacrifice so evidently there are no replacements to take over--even more sad and a real loss.
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