I had an idea recently that some of the agile rituals we engage in are actually spiritual rituals. Like, they are these weird kind of shared prayers.
The thought came as a result of a YouTube video of monks I happened to watch. The day of some monasteries is strictly regimented, often starting at 4am. There are designated times to pray individually, pray as a group, sing as a group, eat and work. Every monk is required to attend and failing to regularly attend the communal prayers, meals or songs can be grounds for the monk to be asked to leave the monastery.
It made me think about how rituals are valuable as a recurring communal activity, even more so than their content. That is, just the monks all congregating in the chapel together may be more important than the prayers they say. I mean, it must suck to show up at 5am to chant some hymns but then you look around and see all of your brothers dutifully there and it may have some kind of psychological affect.
I'm a proponent of remote work but I often wonder if I am being selfish. Monasteries are notoriously ridiculously productive and I wonder how much those rituals play into their success.
The old meaning of the word "deprecate" meant to "pray against," or "to pray for deliverance from". As a software developer, I have always found this fact amusing. Software becomes deprecated not when it is actually limited or removed, but when the developers and maintainers begin to pray that God will deliver them from it.
Thanks, that's interesting. I never thought to look it up before.
Though most people I've worked with for some reason insist on pronouncing and sometimes spelling it as 'depreciated', which I guess makes a little sense if they're thinking of it as 'valueless.'
It's an interesting idea but doesn't really sync up with my experience.
If recurring communal activity has a positive psychological effect then why do people (myself included) seem to have such a disdain for meetings.
"Check in" meetings really are the worst. They're often a very cut-and-dry "here's what I did last week, here's what I'm doing this week" kind of thing and I get the sense that almost everyone hates them.
Maybe the difference here is that in the monasteries the "meetings" are not personal. Nobody is going to a chapel to talk about themselves, or be put on display. It's very much a low-pressure communal environment which IMO makes all the difference.
I think it is possible to confuse a positive psychological effect in the sense of bringing you joy as opposed to a positive psychological effect that results in improved communal activity. I mean to say, not all benefits to a community are coincident with benefits to the individual. In fact, that would be a pretty Christian idea, that the sacrifice you make as an individual (to your enjoyment) results in a benefit for the community.
That is what I meant about me feeling selfish. It may be the case I am prioritizing my comfort over the needs of the community. Rituals are a public display of a willingness to sacrifice, one that is shared amongst a community. The monks see themselves sacrificing for the sake of each other when they show up for the unpleasant 5am prayers.
I was reading about the Order of Cistercians the other day, and I am reminded of this passage from wikipedia:
Relaxations were gradually introduced into Cistercian life with regard to diet and simplicity of life. Also, they began accepting the traditional sources of income that monks in comparable orders used: like rents, tolls, and benefices. The agricultural operations were blessed by success. Wealth and splendour characterized the monasteries, so that by 1300, the standard of living in most abbeys was comparable, if not higher, than the standards middling nobles enjoyed.[59]
[59] Jaritz, Gerhard (1985). "The Standard of Living in German and Austrian Cistercian Monasteries of the Late Middle Ages". In Elder, E. Rozanne (ed.). Goad and Nail. Studies in medieval Cistercian history. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-87907-984-0. "A study [Watzl 1978] done for the Lower-Austrian abbey of Heiligenkreuz demonstrates that in the first half of the fifteenth century, no fewer than 201-207 days of the year saw extra food."
One documentary I watched claimed that they tend to accumulate significant wealth so much so that their effects can be seen on the communities that surround them.
There are probably a lot of reasons for this. Much of the profit from the work done by the monks is often captured by the institution and used to purchase land and buildings. Large monasteries might have dozens or even hundreds of able bodied men engaged in light agriculture, bee keeping, beer production, etc. and that adds up over decades and centuries.
I think when we consider productivity you might be thinking of Silicon Valley hustle culture rather than the effect a community has over centuries.
The thought came as a result of a YouTube video of monks I happened to watch. The day of some monasteries is strictly regimented, often starting at 4am. There are designated times to pray individually, pray as a group, sing as a group, eat and work. Every monk is required to attend and failing to regularly attend the communal prayers, meals or songs can be grounds for the monk to be asked to leave the monastery.
It made me think about how rituals are valuable as a recurring communal activity, even more so than their content. That is, just the monks all congregating in the chapel together may be more important than the prayers they say. I mean, it must suck to show up at 5am to chant some hymns but then you look around and see all of your brothers dutifully there and it may have some kind of psychological affect.
I'm a proponent of remote work but I often wonder if I am being selfish. Monasteries are notoriously ridiculously productive and I wonder how much those rituals play into their success.