elopement 私奔

A postcard came in the mail. My friends have eloped and are living in marital bliss, drinking on love alone somewhere.

I looked up the dictionary: To elope, most literally, merely means to run away, and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married.

***
Since I came back from my adventure in a tale of three cities, life is back to normal. I have found no motivation in anything. There are no inspiration in writing.

I still admire the food pictures I took on the trip, while eating my instant noodles.

Reality is not glamorous. It is doing the same thing day in and day out. It is routine. I pick up the violin that I have not touched for over two weeks. He sure complains that he has been neglected.

Students start to return one by one. There are a thousand musical notes waiting to be mastered; A pile of books waiting to be read; weekly choir rehearsals to attend. I also feel the fatigue of the twice a week five-hour Japanese classes.

***
In the book "Deep Well from the Water" by Gerald Sittser, there is a chapter called "rhythm: the spirituality of monasticism". He wrote,

"One of the greatest temptations we face once we settle into a routine of prayer and work is, as Evagrius pointed out to monks sixteen hundred years ago, acedia,a greek word that does not translate easily... Acedia is better defined as boredom, restlessness, inattentiveness...Known as the "noonday demon" in monasteries, acedia tempts us to quit at midcourse, just when we have followed a routine of prayer and work long enough to be weary of the sameness and tediousness."

"Routine is necessary. Mastery comes from persisting in some endeavor when everything in us wants to quit."

So let the battle with acedia begin...

Although for a moment sometimes, I still lose my thoughts in elopement.