One week alone in the woods. No electricity, no running water.
I would like to share a recent experience I had; hopefully this inspires one of you fellow students of stoicism to do the same one day. I know I will again this year.
Last summer, I had the pleasure of staying in the Belgian Ardennes Forest for one week during July. Sleeping in a former sauna cabin that now serves a sleeping hut for hikers, I had no access to electricity or running water. Surrounded by forests on a steep hill, I found myself in the midst of complete, long-lasting silence for the first time since I was born a quarter century ago.
I had come there to, as I wrote back then, to experience being. I wanted to decouple from the 'fast' life that is so full of constant stimulation. In this fast life, stillness or boredom is forbidden. There is always something to consume or to produce. There is rarely any time to be.
My phone remained in airplane mode all week. Sometimes I took it out to take a few pictures. Since getting my first smartphone at age 12, I have looked at it every day. Last couple of years I have been gradually deleting social media, attempting to cut my phone time. It is a constant battle to this day.
I read. I read A LOT. When there is no easy dopamine, the mind finds ways to be focused for hours. One of the books I really enjoyed reading was Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (letters from a Stoic) in the woods, pausing after each key statement, reflecting on it while watching the trees around me. I took notes and wrote short essays surrounding the topics I had just read about. I have missed handwriting!
I played my guitar, giving concerts to the trees. I watched ants on the ground. I meditated. I went for walks, asking locals for directions. My French needs improvement lol.
I want to highlight 3 insights that I had there.
- A lack of social interactions hit me harder than I expected. By day 5, I caught myself replaying past dialogues and funny moments in my head. There I sat, laughing by myself in the woods. A homo sapiens desperate for human connection, finding a proxy where he can. Do not take human interaction for granted, no matter how simple and short it may be.
- Boredom is a very complex experience. In the woods, I experienced real, deep boredom. The boredom we experience in the ‘fast’ world is nothing like this. I remember on day 3 sitting there after dinner, while the sun was setting, and not wanting to do any of the activities I described above. I was simply done. I lay down on my bed, but I couldn’t fall asleep. It was really uncomfortable. I just took it all in and embraced the discomfort. After a few hours, I fell asleep. It sucked, to be honest. On the other hand, it is a calming experience. One has nothing to do. Boredom creates a context in which tedious tasks seem worth pursuing. Doing chores is typically more mentally engaging than being bored. I learned how I can leverage boredom to practice virtue. One who is bored will work.
- Stillness enables true appreciation of time. It allows us to witness each second as it passes, like dominoes falling one by one. Those who notice this falling sound can appreciate the sheer scale of the domino spectacle.
Please do a retreat like this yourself. I'm sure you will find it to be an essential challenge in pursuing a Stoic life.