Joy, the Poustinik and their Poustinia

This month my prayer book includes small excerpts from a non-fiction work called ‘Poustinia’ by Catherine de Hueck Doherty.

‘Poustinia’ is a Russian word meaning ‘desert,’ but the book is about the value of seeking solitude and silence for one’s own spiritual wellbeing, in the spirit of the great Desert Mothers and Fathers of old. In those days, a hermit would establish residency in a far-off place…like a desert place or deep in a secluded spot in the forest. They did this to practice being alone with God and keeping silence, so they could listen more intently for God’s voice.

In Russia, a person who does this is called a ‘poustinik’ and their dwelling place is called a ‘poustinia.’ Of course, one needn’t physically retreat to a place like this if one wants to commune with God (though it helps), so Catherine de Hueck Doherty wrote her book in hopes of helping everyday people like me and you practice the spirit of ‘desert spirituality’ right where we are from one day to the next.

Often, we think of the practice of silence and solitude as abhorrent, unnecessarily severe, and undesirably ascetic. In much of North American culture, there is a value for popularity and for those who have a way with words. Our airwaves and television programs are filled with constant chatter and talking. Rarely do we stop to practice being fully and simply present to ourselves, the world, and God just through sitting in silence for any significant amount of time. It is as if the moment there is a bit of silence, we quickly and eagerly feel the need to fill it with something else.

We have become so accustomed to the noise that even when we begin to practice silence, our mind instantly fills with thoughts…words, words, and more words…and our heart cannot be at rest, at peace with stillness. Our body may be stilled, but inside we are racing…going, going, and going all the time.

But this way of living robs us of joy. It keeps us from cultivating the kind of peace that penetrates deep to the core of our very being. It blocks us from truly knowing our own profound beloved-ness and the intrinsic beloved-ness of others. In the end, it hinders us from being loved and loving.

Far from making someone stern…cold and stand-offish…the practice of silence-in-solitude opens us up to the world and fills us with the joy of knowing love in the very depths of our being. This is why Catherine de Hueck Doherty writes these words in her book about the way of the ‘poustinia’:

“If you ever see a sad hermit or poustinik, then he is no hermit at all. The most joyous persons in Russia are the ones who have the eyes of a child at 70 and who are filled with the joy of the Lord, for they who have entered the silence of God are filled with God’s joy….You cannot fool people as to such things as the presence of love and joy in a human being.”

My invitation to you this holiday season is to take some time…out of the normal hustle and bustle…to just sit in silence and savor it, rather than filling the silence with something else. Just breathe. Just be. Cultivate joy and peace deep within just by knowing that God is present and loves you, just by being present to the time you have and the space you inhabit.

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Joy, the Poustinik and their Poustinia
reflections by troy cady

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*Photo by Brett Jordan via Unsplash. Creative Commons License.