Living Peaceably with the Pandemic

11-01-2021

Since 2009, Carol Amadio, M.Div’80, has lived life as a hermit. It’s a life of more solitude and silence than most people are accustomed to, and it’s a way of life that has helped her peaceably co-exist with the lingering limitations of a global pandemic. In this Q&A with Leading Change, she shares some insights on using the gift of time this global pandemic has offered.

What’s a hermit and why did you become one?

Hermits have existed for many hundreds of years in many spiritual traditions. Today, Christian hermits live quiet lives all over the world in both rural and urban settings. Their lives are centered in prayer and solitude as well as service to others.  

As a young child, I was curious about prayer and sought to learn more about it. As a teenager, I discovered three life-changing books, The Way of a Pilgrim, The Cloud of Unknowing, and New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. These books introduced me to deeper levels of prayer and Merton’s quest to live as a hermit.

As a much younger person, I spent a short time in a monastery to explore whether I might be called to live in a religious community. During that time, I came to understand that I would someday be called to live as a hermit. After I retired from my life as a social worker, lawyer, parish priest and teacher, I felt it was time to begin living as a hermit and discerned what form this life would take for me.

What were some of the ways you served your community before the pandemic?

Before the pandemic, I participated in my parish as a member of the congregation as well as preaching and celebrating the Eucharist when this was needed as an interim or supply pastor. I also taught Bible study and membership classes and participated in and provided leadership for caregiver and grief groups. I presided at weddings and funerals from time to time both in my congregation and people in the community. Several years ago, I helped found a community concert band and played the flute at our concerts. 

How did the pandemic change life for you?

The pandemic has made it necessary to spend more time in solitude. Due to my age and medical situation, I have had to curtail nearly all person-to-person contacts. I have learned to participate in Zoom, and in some ways that has increased my contacts with other people as I have attended meetings, conferences, and church services virtually.

You seem to be every engaged with the people around you. How is that consistent with the life of a hermit?

To be for the world, you have to have interactions with that world. Since even hermits are still citizens, I spend some time keeping up with current events, mostly through reading. I am mindful of the advice of Karl Barth and other informed prayers that a person needs to keep her Bible in one hand and the newspaper (or Ipad) in the other to inform her life of prayer.

Whether we’re with others or by ourselves, we are always in the presence of God. In the book, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, he shares that all creation, including me, are always in God’s presence. There is no need to seek God; the challenge is to pay attention and open myself to the many forms God’s presence takes.

What’s been a key to living a peaceably life during a pandemic?  

In general, the key is the same in or outside of COVID…to live a balanced life includes prayer, work, study, exercise, a mindful appreciation of nature, and relationships with others in whatever ways are possible.

My Rule of Life consists of praying four Daily Offices, along with times of centering prayer and intercessory prayer. I have to admit that I am never able to give my full attention to God, and probably even less so through practices such as prayer and meditation. The best I can do is show up and ask for the grace to listen to what God wants me to hear and do.

How much time I give to solitude varies according to the time of year and my need to attend to the practical issues and errands we all must perform. I try to have a meal with someone every week, although COVID has largely prevented this.

What have been some ways you have dealt with the isolation and loneliness of the pandemic?

We must differentiate loneliness from solitude. Solitude is to be alone with God. Discovering new spiritual practices such as centering prayer, meditation, mindful walking, or a regular discipline of reading Scripture, are ways to enrich our time in solitude. This gift of time also allows us to slow down…to notice and enjoy ordinary activities such as cooking, healthy eating, walking, or just paying attention to our own feelings. During this season, to feel lonely, anxious, or restless from time to time doesn’t mean we are “going over the edge.” It does mean that it is more important than usual that we are aware of our feelings and find ways to deal with them positively. I try to keep a list of things that I enjoy, activities that can keep me from sinking into a “bad mood.”  Music, mystery novels, favorite comedies, and gentle nature walks are all activities I find to be healing. And it helps to change enjoyable activities periodically. As we all continue our lives within this uncertain time, it’s important to remember that while many of us are in solitude none of us is alone. We are part of a community learning to live and love in new ways. Stay connected.

Carol Amadio has a master’s degree in Social Work and a Law degree, both from Loyola University Chicago. She also has a degree in Urban Legal Studies from the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Her professional life centered on caring for children and families within the child welfare system as a social worker, attorney, administrator, and teacher. She was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 1980 and a priest in 1981. As a priest, she has served many Episcopal and Lutheran congregations in several capacities, specializing in interim ministry. She also served as an adjunct professor of canon law and parish administration for Seabury Western Theological Seminary.

Carol Amadio

“In general, the key is the same in or outside of COVID…to live a balanced life includes prayer, work, study, exercise, a mindful appreciation of nature, and relationships with others in whatever ways are possible.”