The Silent Treatment

I had the chance to go spend a couple of days at a monastery after the order of St. Benedictine.  The point of this was for self reflection and growth.  The method they encouraged was silence and introspection.  Well everybody there talked and often but that doesn't mean it wasn't worthwhile.  Sometimes reflection and growth happen best when bouncing ideas off of other people and getting feedback from them.  I had several good conversations there which were integral to my academic growth.  Randomly the monastery was built in front of a field which had a faery ring in it.  That was cool to go explore.  Also the town which was about four miles of a walk from the monastery had a monument to the general which burnt DC during the War of 1812.  I pretty much had no reaction but I wondered if I should have had some sort of gut wrenching sort of thing.  But the guy was from a gorgeous little village on the sea.