Walk about

After reading this article in the Atlantic, I can't help but be struck by how little our American culture supports the desire to let go of our lives and explore the spiritual journey. It's so easy to see our western culture as 'normal'.  But really, it's just a construction of what we've all agreed 'normal' should look like, how normal should behave, what normal values should be. Go to work, have a family, be a good citizen.

This week there are 10 million individuals at Kumbh Mela, washing in the spiritual waters.  To these people, this is normal. These individuals are called Sadhu and Sadhivi;

"The Sanskrit terms sādhu ("good man") and sādhvī ("good woman") refer to renouncers who have chosen to live a life apart from or on the edges of society in order to focus on their own spiritual practice."

How can it be that there are hardly any structures to support walking away from it all in our culture? We have glimpses of it, a weekend in the Nevada dessert here, a trip yoga retreat there.  There are a few who dedicate themselves to it seriously, but for most it's more entertainment than enlightenment. I think it's something that could enrich everyone's experience.