Blessed are the single-hearted . . .
"The 'single-hearted' has been variously translated as pure of heart or clean of heart — a perfect description of what a hermit should be striving to become. Being 'single-hearted' is the goal of the eremitic lifestyle because it enables the solitary to live free from the endless distractions which are afflicting and exhausting modern society. Like some plagues, this disease which scatters the mind is spread by the technological gadgets which both claim and divide our attention simultaneously. Few people these days are allowed to focus on only one thing at a time. How often do people feel guilty of wasting time unless they are doing at least two things at once: e.g., listening to educational tapes or catching up on phone calls while driving, or doing the laundry and watching TV while cooking. 'Time-saving' devices, instead of freeing people up for more leisurely living, merely make it possible for them to attend to three tasks at once! The genuinely single-hearted are made to feel like the simple-minded because they prefer to focus on only one thing at a time.
"People enter solitude in search of truth, simplicity, and peace. They know instinctively that the desert is an enemy of any artifice or pretence [sic]. By choosing to renounce all manner of duplicity, the hermit enters into a new reality and experiences a different dimension of time and space, an order of being that is unfathomable and intangible to most. As the solitary matures, she or he discovers a realm where the glory of God is revealed in everything and at every moment. This revelation becomes increasingly entrancing as the chaff of the secular world is shaken out and blown away, leaving only the pure grain of simplicity and truth. This 'moment' of revelation is not just one dramatic visitation but is rather a continual conversion — an endless turning away from insincerity, hypocrisy, and lies.
"The complexity of contemporary culture is confusing, calling for re-evaluation and change. One failure of modern society is that values are increasingly perceived only on a horizontal level, in a secular and purely humanistic way. Human dignity and solidarity are seen only as secular goals and achievements. Seeing them thus limits what can be accomplished. These and similar values can even revive atheistic communism unless they are set against the backdrop of the absolute and universal.
"The future hermit will seek to live as have Native Americans for centuries past, seeing all that exists as 'my relations' and drawing a thread of reconciliation between God and humanity, between human beings and their planet. While involved in this universal reconciliation, hermits discover their true and mysterious name, the one by which the Divine alone knows them. This discovery of one's true name creates a singular bond, much like a marriage, between the solitary and his or her God, explaining why a hermit so seldom feels lonely when alone in the hermitage. Their minds are focused on seeking God; their hearts are satisfied with finding God.
"The single-hearted hermits of the future will seek to live in a spirit of humility and service, allowing the redemptive power of love to transform them and to flow through them in self-giving sacrifice. Such focus will give their lives authenticity and make them effective for good. . . .
"This is the task of the single-hearted — to allow the world to enter their souls with all its tragedy and triumph; its beauty and baseness. The pure of heart will let people be . . . lovingly, trusting in the goodness which will result if they but refuse to meddle or even pray for any preconceived outcome. They have no ulterior motive but to allow good to happen, however it is meant . . . with single-hearted love.
. . . for they shall (even now) see God."
