Torsdag 8 November 2007
A great way to spend the weekend
Last weekend I went to Vadstena to spend a couple of days in silence at St. Birgitta’s
Abbey (http://www.birgittaskloster.se). My friends pretty much thought I lost my mind when I told them I was going to spend an entire weekend in silence, except for one friend, who came along. Spending a weekend in silence WITH a friend is A LOT harder than spending a weekend in silence on your own! But I think we did a pretty good job.
We arrived on Friday night, were greeted by the nuns and were given access to our cells. No, just kidding! We stayed in the guesthouse, not in the actual abbey. After supper and a brief introduction, the silence-part of the weekend began. It’s a weird feeling knowing you have to shut up. I mean, what if you accidentally step on someone’s foot? Are you not supposed to say you’re sorry just because you’re supposed to be quiet? That first night it was as if everyone walked around afraid of opening their mouths at all, afraid that something would just slip out. You had to concentrate not to speak!
We had some compulsory activities during the weekend, mainly meals and meditations. During our free time, we could do pretty much what we felt like, except talk. Of course, if we left the property no one could really check up on us or even cared if we talked or not. My friend and I took some long walks during the weekend, and we did talk during these walks. We figured our need to talk was greater than our need for silence (we don’t see each other very often). Surprisingly time passed fairly quickly. I don’t remember being bored at all during those days. At one point I remember wondering what was going on in the world. The abbey gets newspapers, but TV and radio are banned during these quiet weekends. But when you’re used to getting your news off the Internet, newspapers feel ancient! No current news!
I’d recommend anyone feeling even remotely stressed out to spend a couple of days in a place like this. St. Birgitta’s Abbey has three weekends in spring and three in the fall when you can go there for some peace and quiet. You can go there during other times as well, but then I don’t think the silence is guaranteed.
http://beta.orbville.com/member/aldaya/bilder/77041
Abbey (http://www.birgittaskloster.se). My friends pretty much thought I lost my mind when I told them I was going to spend an entire weekend in silence, except for one friend, who came along. Spending a weekend in silence WITH a friend is A LOT harder than spending a weekend in silence on your own! But I think we did a pretty good job.
We arrived on Friday night, were greeted by the nuns and were given access to our cells. No, just kidding! We stayed in the guesthouse, not in the actual abbey. After supper and a brief introduction, the silence-part of the weekend began. It’s a weird feeling knowing you have to shut up. I mean, what if you accidentally step on someone’s foot? Are you not supposed to say you’re sorry just because you’re supposed to be quiet? That first night it was as if everyone walked around afraid of opening their mouths at all, afraid that something would just slip out. You had to concentrate not to speak!
We had some compulsory activities during the weekend, mainly meals and meditations. During our free time, we could do pretty much what we felt like, except talk. Of course, if we left the property no one could really check up on us or even cared if we talked or not. My friend and I took some long walks during the weekend, and we did talk during these walks. We figured our need to talk was greater than our need for silence (we don’t see each other very often). Surprisingly time passed fairly quickly. I don’t remember being bored at all during those days. At one point I remember wondering what was going on in the world. The abbey gets newspapers, but TV and radio are banned during these quiet weekends. But when you’re used to getting your news off the Internet, newspapers feel ancient! No current news!
I’d recommend anyone feeling even remotely stressed out to spend a couple of days in a place like this. St. Birgitta’s Abbey has three weekends in spring and three in the fall when you can go there for some peace and quiet. You can go there during other times as well, but then I don’t think the silence is guaranteed.
http://beta.orbville.com/member/aldaya/bilder/77041
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It seems like a good way of spending a weekend in our stressed lives today. Thanks for sharing the thought.
I was born i Motala, just one mile from Vadstena, and i have never thought of Vadstena as a place to go on a holiday. But it`s a cute little town. I remember in school we had a visit to the abbey and the nuns, and i remember that i wondered how they could choose to live as a nun all their lives.