My dear neighbor Douglas Christie reminds us that metaphors of deserts, darkness, and silence wrap themselves around one another to help us deal with loss and uncertainty, in nearly all the perennial wisdom traditions.
In our new anthology and in his forthcoming book, The Insurmountable Darkness of Love, Douglas recounts his pilgrimage into the deserts of Egypt to climb into the cave of St Anthony:
“I consider all those souls who have journeyed to this place before me, and who felt moved to unburden themselves in the presence of a saint. Who allowed themselves to become vulnerable in this way. To hope. Who clearly sensed that the one who disappeared into this desert mountain all those years ago was alive and present to them and held their lives and their well being close. Who felt, as I do know, that it makes a difference to come here, to allow yourself to become vulnerable, to open yourself to the immense silence.”
