Small Town

When we first moved here to a town of about 8 thousand , we were thrilled with how different it was . All the concerns about being bored because of lack of culture etc. fell by the wayside. There were new things to learn to even driving around through the orchards was a feast for our souls. The lack of great restaurants and variety of kinds of food that is in larger cities , was replaced with cooking at home with friends. Friends become paramount in a small town. We need each other for stimulation way way more than you do in a large city.

But what I want to talk about here is what happens when to your body when you don’t have traffic, or noise, and crime is not a constant concern. You relax on a molecular level that directly affects your thinking. You also develop a taste for more of that. The trade off for living in a small town with few amenities is an extremely low price to pay. Thats why towns like Wilson Creek that has 300 people in it and no grocery store close or anything close by is full of people that adore it.

There is something human being need that you get in a small town that a big town kills.

You cannot know this unless you actually move to a small town. You can’t just vacation there to know.

Your roots can grow here planted directly in the earth instead of a pot. They can grow and grow and become strong.

St Anthony of the Desert.

Its sort of mind boggling to read about the lives of Saints. Especially ones that have still a huge influence of people thousands of years after they lived. St. Anthony was born wealthy and heard a priest quote one line in the Bible. “Give everything you have away, and follow me” So he did. He gave all his possessions away to the poor and went to live in a cave in the desert for 43 years. You would think that was a little bit overboard but he was led to do that . Others joined him and he started the first monastery. What do you do in a monastery ?? pray. He had some pretty scary things occur while in the cave. Demonic activity manifested in the cave but he remained resolute. He thought he must be doing something right if demons were attacking him. The monastery he started is still there today. It has two churches full of art that was painting on the walls. This is shy of two thousand years ago and its still there. You can even go to the actual cave he lived in.

I painted him simply holding the Christ child in his arms. I don’t think he’d mind the sequins as Im sure he experienced inner light in the cave and reflected off him. t

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