Hermitage Meditation February 8, 2025
by Anne Arseneau
Silent meditation between the river and forest at the Brandt Hermitage is a quiet walk through the forest to the home of Father Charles Brandt where he lived alone for fifty years along the Oyster River – a river which pours itself into the ocean just a mile downstream. In the feminine imagery of Kahlil Gibran’s iconic poem Fear, the river does not disappear but rather joins the greater water, the ocean. When we gather in silence at the Hermitage, we take a moment to hear some words of wisdom to direct our thoughts. Perhaps we become more aware of our fear. The contemplatives cross back through the forest joining the greater community, visible on our life journey, just like the river becoming the ocean.
Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American poet, a visual artist and philosopher. He called his New York writing studio his hermitage and his resting place is a monastery. As an Arab Christian, Gibran was deeply influenced by Islam and Sufi Mysticism. He believed in the fundamental unity of religions. His classic book The Prophet is one of the best-selling books of all time.
“It’s not about disappearing into the ocean, but of becoming the ocean.”