Yesterday was an amazing day as fourteen of us from work hiked through the Qadisha Valley in northern Lebanon. This place was spectacular! Our hike consisted of walking on a path that connected a series of small Maronite monasteries that was established by the church around 300 AD.
One monastery was still inhabited by a “hermit” priest from Colombia. He was called a hermit because he lived in the mountainside small monastery by himself, but he welcomed visitors like us. He wasn’t a hermit in the traditional sense of total isolation from others, but living on the mountainside monastery he was only exposed to those hikers who would make their way to the monastery. How pleasant it must be to be able to live on a mountainside, relatively secluded from the world outside, with as much time to contemplate, meditate and sleep as much as you want. Your only engagement would be to welcome visitors from all over who trekked along a mountainside to see your simple domicile. Of course, these individuals who snaked their way to see you would be interested in meeting and talking with you, and generally engaging people that would capture your interest leading to stimulating conversation. Not a horrible way to spend the days. And then, I thought about what I might miss: lattes at coffee shops, yoga classes, running in the early morning, bookstores, the Internet, and my cats (they probably would not adapt to living on a side of a mountain too well).
The scenery and path we hiked on was so beautiful and inspiring! One of the many highlights of the hike was stopping to eat at a mountainside restaurant where we were treated to a traditional Lebanese lunch of fresh vegetables, herbs, hummus, lubneh, and grilled chicken and lamb kabobs. Yum!
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