Home again

I am back home.
It is now Wednesday, July 31, and I am finding it very difficult to make the transition from being on retreat in a remote mountain cabin to being back at my regular world, nice as it is.

I know I need to find a balance between the interconnected online digital world and the peaceful and serene natural world. I need both in my life. When I left Plum Village last summer Brother Ky Lee gave me a cock on which he had painted the Chinese symbols for "Mountain" and "River." Mountains and rivers are both very important to me. So is being connected with my friends and family.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I simply tried to adjust to civilization. It included going to my office at the college and cleaning out my e-mail, which was overloaded. I also had to deal with the most pressing business obligations. There will be more of that today. On Monday I drive from Carlisle, Pa., to home. It was a long, hard drive. On Sunday, I drove from Wildacres to Carlisle, Pa. That was a long drive too.

And Saturday was my final day as Writer-in-residence, or cabin dweller, as I prefer. It was great. I had breakfast in the dining hall with staff. All three artists-in-residence had lunch together in the little Switzerland Café. And then Lona, the storyteller, brought over some frozen stuffed shells, which she heated up for our dinner. After dinner we saw a bear at my cabin door. That was definitely a highlight of the trip.