Reply To: An insight into human nature
So many lovely examples; I always enjoy reading the interactions between Jean-Guy and Armand and others’ comments about those. I also enjoyed the unfolding and maturing relationship between Armand and Daniel. I hope that is a theme the LP continues to include.
There is another scene or scenes that I think capture an insight into human nature and how we navigate our relationships with others. The one that struck me involved Frere Simon, acting Abbot and opener of others’ mail. It is a reminder of the power of information and the power that comes both with sharing what others don’t have and withholding it. Armand and Jean-Guy initially regard Frere Simon’s opening others mail as a response to the isolation and boredom of their lives. “Maybe he’s just hungry for anything new. For news. So he opens the mail. Not to manipulate, maybe not even for power, but really just a curiosity about the outside world. I’d probably do the same, eventually.” Except I think Frere Simon doesn’t open the mail out of boredom but out of a sense of his power when he does. Frere Simon struggles not with boredom but with the demands of living in community with his fellow monks.
That is why Frere Roland says, “He’s not a bad man, you know. But it’s possible his place is in the world and not here. God willing, he’ll discover where he belongs. It’s what we all want.”
As Frere Roland indicates, finding one’s place is a pretty human experience and for some people that is a struggle for power of sorts.
