Most of last week was a mid-year break. I was able to use this free time to explore the city of Athens in greater depth and to explore the Greek Orthodox Easter traditions. For me, the break consisted of leisurely walks around Athens, reflecting on religion, both Greek and my own spirituality, and taking a not-so-relaxing hike on the island of Hydra. I was able to use this time to reflect on my time in Greece and plan how I wanted to make the most of my final month in the country.
Walking through Athens allowed me to reflect on what connects the city to modern Greece. One of these walks included a Good Friday procession through the neighborhood. Here, my apartment met other students from the program and we observed part of a religious ceremony. Kids were playing outside and everyone was talking to each other. The atmosphere was energetic and festive. It was also much more casual than Easter services in the U.S. I think this experience taught me that religion is as much about community and unity as it is about specific religious doctrines. During this procession, we also saw another fellow worshipper participating in the service while carrying one of the processional items. The joy I saw in that moment made me glad that I went on this walk and explored this more modern part of Greece.
Then on Easter Saturday, we took a day trip to Hydra, an island with no cars, where we hiked for about an hour and a half (all uphill) to a mountaintop monastery. We ended up climbing about 1,600 feet. This kind of trip was both a nice change of pace and unexpectedly hard. We had to take a few breaks, but in the end, the views were worth it, and so was the reflection afterwards.
The island was unlike any place I have ever been. We saw three cars in total, all for agriculture or construction. The environment the island created was calm and peaceful. It was as if my mind was clearer. I could hear either my own thoughts, the words of others, or nature. There were no distracting noises of modern life. In the mountaintop monastery, we sat mostly in silence. When we talked, we discussed our own spirituality and our plans for the future. It was introspective, not in an existential way, but in a calm way. I thought about religion and its relationship to God (or gods), if there is one. I pondered and pondered.
The lesson of the week is that I want to spend more time in nature. Just listening to my thoughts and the sounds of the trees, water and wind can help me to feel at peace and reflect on being alive (I know it’s corny). Finally, I want to share this thought with you all: in ancient times, it must have been a huge struggle to get anywhere, especially to a monastery like this. I can’t imagine how small the average person’s world was, since most people had to walk everywhere. Even with horses and mules, the logistics of maintaining a monastery-like settlement like this must have been enormous. That’s why everyone has farms.
