The Garden

I did not sleep last night. I was not anxious or nervous; I just could not fall asleep. I was sweating and chilly at the same time. I was constantly being awoken by noises. It was a very long, dark night.

One thing I realized throughout the course of the night is that I am sick of and disgusted by sin. We chase the promise of pleasure everywhere in this life and it always leads to a dead end. I always feel shammed by sin, led to my doomed fate like a dumb ox. I don't know where this feeling came from specifically, but it was very palpable.

There will be crucifixions tomorrow, and they will be painful. There is no easy crucifixion, and no easy renunciation, and this is why Jesus said the Way is not easy, because it simply isn't. Jesus was very scared before his death, and I am scared in the face of my impending 'little death.' I'm glad I don't have time to linger on it; there is too much still to be done. Let's get on with it then, shall we?

What Was

I parted with my kitchen table and chairs tonight and it was the first time I really felt the displacement of myself into homelessness. I had no emotional attachment to the table, but I took for granted that that was the place where I sat and ate, or read, or wrote. This thing was here, and now it's gone. It is very harsh, this indian-giving transiency. Today you are a bachelor, tomorrow you are a husband. Today you are alive; tomorrow you are dead. It is like having the rug pulled out from under you; it always feels very sudden.

I have been interested in learning about the significance of the year 2012, the year in which the earth is speculated to have run its course (according to the Mayans, who had one of the most sophisticated calender systems in history). I don't know what happens exactly in this passing from one age to the next, but I know it is to be a time of great upheaval and tumult. I find it interesting to think about that exact point in which we pass from one era (for lack of a better term) to the next. There is a definitive point in which things change. That point is like the eye of a hurricane; a place of equilibrium. But the shift is anything but calm.

I have adjusted to not having a kitchen table. I took my small folding chair out of the bus and put it at my desk. It is the only chair I own, and it is a very lowly one. I will eat at my desk for the next couple days. It is not too bad, and it is not permanent. But it feels reflective of my entire move. I look into the corner of my kitchen, and all that is left are dust bunnies.

Talk on the Urban Hermitage and Green Theology in Mt. Airy 9/20

From Wisdom Magazine, 45,000 copies monthly:



TALK ON THE URBAN HERMITAGE PROJECT AND GREEN THEOLOGY AT ROCKSTAR GALLERY 9/20

RockStar Gallery
Ancient Ways For Modern Life
20 E Mt Airy Ave 1R – Philadelphia PA 19119
267-286-1011
www. rockstarcrystalgallery. com

Join us for a talk on The Urban Hermitage Project, a
conscious living experiment, on September 20th from 1-3pm.

Rob Marco, founder of the project, will speak with us
about Green Theology and his attempt to fashion a zero-energy,
ecologically-sustainable solitary dwelling,
in a recycled school bus, as a witness to
Christian discipleship in the eremitic tradition.
Rob will
discuss the importance of ascetics and environment in the
home as a means of cultivating the mental and spiritual
clarity necessary for spiritual survival
in an increasingly chaotic world.

For more info please call RockStar at 267-286-1011 or
visit the project's website at
www.natureformandspirit.blogspot.com

Urban Hermitage Picture Show!

Construction has picked up and everything is going pretty much according to schedule. Here are some pics!:
(from top to bottom: 1)bed; 2)finished shoji screens; 3)St. John the Baptist and St. Benedict; 4)175ah 12v battery bank; 5)5gal bucket for sawdust toilet; 6)slow sand and activated carbon filter; 7)desk; 8)floating shoji screens!; 9)kitchen countertops and cabinents; 10)flooring; 11)super insulated fridge; 12)St. Antony the Great, patron of the Urban Hermitage.

End Days

As my move out date approaches, I am genuinely apprehensive. I have a low tolerance for stress, and try to avoid it whenever possible, but there is no escaping it when moving; if the move is going to happen, change will follow suite, and stress will be following on its coattails.

My dad came down a couple days ago and we went to Ikea to get lunch and to pick up the flooring (@20sq ft., it only ended up costing $16 to cover the whole area inside the bus. I will have photos up soon). I never have to explain myself around my dad, or be anything other than what I am--which right now, is a bit of a mess. He is good at reminding me to take things one thing at a time, and that I don't have to prove anything to anyone. Everyone should know what it feels like to be loved unconditionally, but I take it for granted so often, and ignore it when its offered. It's only when you need to feel it, when it isn't coming from anywhere else, that you really appreciate it.

When I step back and think about it, I still feel good about the project and what I'm doing and am starting to think the nervousness comes simply from change rather than from any dysfunction with the project. I feel good about not having a mortgage and owning my 'home.' I feel good about getting rid of 80% of what I own and honing things down to the bare essentials. I feel good about living an intentional--albeit unconventional--life freely chosen. I feel good about all those things.

But I'm still nervous about the change;)

Review of 'God and Country' in Phawker

Thanks to Cassidy for passing this along:

Dave Allen
Phawker, August 2008
http://www.phawker.com/2008/08/28/paperboy-its-not-easy-being-green-edition/


It might not be the City of Treehugger-ly Love, but PW’s Green Issue points out some places in the city that bleed green no matter how well McNabb and the Iggles play. The PW staff dishes out helpful hints by the dozen on earth-friendly pet maintenance and keeping your clothing and accessories in line with Mother Nature. Not listed: saving water by getting a second wear out of that t-shirt. On the head-scratching, I-did-not-know-that front, there’s a new strain of environmental activism running through the Catholic Church, and pollution now qualifies as a “social sin.” But before you run out and stone your neighbor for leaving the hose running while he washes his car, check out Cassidy Hartmann’s article on Rob Marco and the eco-hermetic lifestyle he’s setting up in Roxborough, and you’ll find a more enlightened approach.

"For Rob Marco, a 28-year-old Roxborough resident pursuing a master’s degree in theology at Villanova, the opportunity to incorporate eco-friendly practices with Catholic teachings was no mere sign of the times. It was more like the answer to a prayer he hadn’t yet put into words. Last month Marco quit his job as a caseworker and began the Urban Hermitage Project—a plan to shed life’s material excesses and construct a sustainable one-room home out of recycled materials."

With a used van equipped with a composting toilet, special water treatment system, and not much else, Marco plans to dive deep into spiritual writing and expression. He’s driven, not a dingbat.

"Marco plans to move into the bus by October—he just needs someplace to park it.“I’d prefer not to be [parked] on the street,” he says. A backyard would be ideal. No one’s offered yet, but Marco isn’t worried—he’s confident the right place will present itself."

Someone in Roxborough/Manayunk, hook an environmentally-conscious brother up!


Thank you Dave. And just fyi, the word 'hermetic' is a bit misleading (it refers to things pertaining to the occult!); 'eremitic' is the proper word, reserved for those things pertaining to the life of a hermit.

My environmental conscious started making some noise this afternoon after i walked out of a pep boys with a bottle of "guaranteed to pass emissions" fluid. it is designed to clean the injectors and such (i'm not sure if the bus would pass otherwise!). the problem is you have to empty it into a FULL tank of gas, run it to E, and refill it, before the test. That means the engine needs at least a few hundred miles...miles that I don't want to drive! I was thinking that at the least i could put an ad on craigslist offering people a ride to harrisburg or central jersey or something. i hate to drive! i guess i could go on a roadtrip. hm...