River Cruise Learning

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My wife and I were fortunate enough to complete a 14 day river cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest. It was a spectacular experience, in so many ways.

One Benedictine Monastery/Palace is in Melk, Austria, and it’s simply stunning. Its real treasure, many would argue, is a grand, two-story library boasting floor to ceiling bookshelves, holding about 80,000 leather-bound medieval manuscripts, many of which are hand-written.

The first phrase of the oldest Benedictine book, as proudly displayed under glass in the monastery, is "Obsculta, o fili, praecepta magistri ad.+" (Listen, my son, to the teachings of the master...). This wording is from the prologue of "Regula Benedicti," also known as "The Rule of Saint Benedict." A more modern interpretation, according to our guide, is “to listen with an open heart.”

And good Heavens, this river cruise reinforced for me that WE ALL could really benefit from a strong dose of Benedictine wisdom!

Listening with an open heart is the key to continuous, meaningful learning and unlearning (also a key Benedictine trait). As I’ve mentioned in blogs before, a change in perspective, which comes from deep listening, often increases both our IQ and EQ.

Our river cruise included 180 passengers, who lived on the ship together for 14 consecutive days, including shared breakfasts, lunch and dinners. The boat was filled with mostly retired boomers, an average age in their late 60’s, with 75 percent American guests.

Sadly, we noticed that “Benedictine listening” was mostly absent. The polarization of passenger views seemed to reflect dug-in segments of their preferred news sources. “Biden is the worst,” was the bluntly stated message of many, and to be polite, most of the “Trump haters” grumbled under their breath. While this “well healed” group avoided blatant rudeness, curiosity and “listening with an open heart” quickly disappeared from conversation. I guess human nature is that we flock together with people who think like us, and after all, we were all on vacation.

What saddens me is that all those many years on Earth bestowed on us lucky passengers, might imply a seasoned level of a generous amount of wisdom and understanding, recognizing that there is always another perspective. Unfortunately, I observed a lot of rich, old people, very entitled, and stuck in their ways of thinking and acting. It also reinforced that sightseeing alone does not necessarily imply learning.

The soul searching question for me after this trip is: Am I really listening with an open heart? How much am I really learning and unlearning versus confirming my biases or obscuring my fears? Am I trying to be right or learn more about what may be “right?” What about you?

P.S. if you can, take the trip. You’re worth it. And if you do, listen with an open heart.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

Lorne

One Millennial View: Listening with an open heart is a wonderful lesson to learn, however I wonder how many people truly can. I’m so wary of any organization who says blanket statements like, “do the right thing.” Uh huh. Duh. Like, what do you mean, exactly? Do you mean “don’t be a criminal?” Cool. So far, so good. Or, and more likely, do you mean “do what’s right according to me?” That’s what that really means, and frankly, it’s condescending, and control masked as something that appears irrefutably agreeable. That’s how you get into manipulatable, evil territory. However, “listen with an open heart” is beautiful, Benedictine wisdom, because it does not tell you to change your convictions, it merely asks you to have the patience and grace to consider, and overcome the cowardice of being too bothered to hear a different perspective.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis.

River Cruise Learning

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