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Author Topic: Is living the single life as a scholar a realistic vocation?  (Read 7155 times)

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Is living the single life as a scholar a realistic vocation?
« on: September 19, 2022, 12:36:40 AM »
The ideal vocation for me would be to live as a Traditional Dominican friar( so I could devote my life to prayer and study) However, there are really only 2 Traditional Dominican communities in the world today, and given my health issues, I can’t really join either of them. 

Nevertheless, I want to devote my life to prayer and study( I want to live as a Dominican would without being a Dominican) Im currently in university and I may go for a PhD, but I have no desire to teach at a modern university. 

I have very poor eyesight( so it’s difficult for me to cook and do laundry- perhaps I could learn to do both ) I also don’t drive. 

So at this point, my thinking is that once I finish all of my degrees, I’ll move to a place with cheap housing/food and a solid( non-SSPX) Trad chapel. At that point I’d start writing articles and books.

Here are some questions I have
1. Any recommendations for where I could live? I’ve thought about learning French and moving to a place like Avrille( where the Dominicans are) but I’m not sure what housing options are available in a place that rural. Like I said, I’d be looking for a place with cheap housing/food.
2. I’m not opposed to doing some manual work to support myself, but with my bad eyesight, options are pretty limited. I don’t think I’d be able to support myself merely by writing books/articles though. Any thoughts on how I might support myself?

Feel free to PM


Offline Matthew

  • Mod
Re: Is living the single life as a scholar a realistic vocation?
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2022, 02:40:38 AM »
I don't have any answers to your specific questions, but I do have some important advice.

Let's just say that "non-standard vocations", including starting your own business, are rife with obstacles and require great self-discipline.

I know of a Trad young lady who quit her office job "so she could focus on her writing" and two decades later, she has never finished, much less published, a single thing. She is about the opposite of self-discipline though, being more of a "creative, curious" type. Like many CathInfo members, I dare say. But curiosity, truth, knowledge, Theology, and philosophy don't pay the bills.

On the self-discipline front, I can recommend this: have a to-do list every day. But also have a "done" list, so you have accountability for how you spent each day. I personally do this, using a text file. I can even do searches in it, to see when I did such-and-such. It's quite helpful.

I put in a dash followed by the "end time" for each activity. You could modify this system though; this is just what works for me.

Up at 7:00
Wake up, breakfast - 7:45
Exercise - 8:00
Cure cancer - 8:10
Read CathInfo - 10:00
Watch Youtube videos - 12:00


I'm joking about the last few -- but you need to put down honestly however you spent your time. That is the only way to have self-awareness and self-knowledge of how you're truly spending your time each day. You can say "I'm an author" but if you spend 8 hours a day wasting time, browsing videos or watching movies, you might want to work on that.

But it's not JUST about accountability. I wish I had a nickle for every time I found the motivation to do something primarily to "get it off my list" and/or to have something solid to put on my Done list.

And it's not just about pointing out "bad guys" in your time management. You might THINK that X is the enemy of your free time, whereas it's not actually taking up as much time as you FEEL LIKE it is. The real culprit might be Y or Z instead. It's easier to see this when it's all laid out on paper, in black & white.


Offline Yeti

  • Supporter
Re: Is living the single life as a scholar a realistic vocation?
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2022, 03:39:05 AM »
I think you're looking at this from the wrong end. Try looking at it this way: Your first duty is to support yourself and not be a burden on society, so get that taken care of first, and then what you do in your free time after work is up to you.

Re: Is living the single life as a scholar a realistic vocation?
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2022, 08:58:23 AM »
I think this is a very noble pursuit, and if I could do something similar to you I totally would. Haha. I don't know specific answers to your questions but some general advice I have is since Mass and the Sacraments are the most important aspect of our lives I would begin looking at Mass locations starting with your top places based on personal preferences. Then start looking at the job market around that area. 

Here is a link to help you with finding a job in the United States, you mentioned eye sight problems and this might be something you'd find resourceful: https://rsa.ed.gov/about/states - They will help you find a job best suited for your needs. 

Whatever you end up doing try to find a job that's conducive to your personal writing/study schedule. Keep praying for guidance and I will pray for you too.

::)

Änσnymσus

  • Guest
Re: Is living the single life as a scholar a realistic vocation?
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2022, 09:52:27 AM »
 You mentioned poor eyesight.  As long as one can actually see so as not to bump into things I’m not sure how that prevents one from cooking and doing laundry, people who are totally blind learn how to do these things for themselves.  But the ability to see to read would also be absolutely critical to the life of a scholar.  An early piece of advice, if this hasn’t been completely worked out, is to see a MD or DO who is board certified in ophthalmology, rather than an optometrist, get things checked, and sort out what might be done.  My father left a successful career as a certified public accountant to become a farmer in the 1950’s partly because he was blind in one eye and the doctors then said the eye strain from accounting work could leave him with very diminished sight at a younger age than if he did something involving less eye strain.
 
You mention that you don’t drive.  Unless you can live in a community (such as a monastery) where there are others around to help you, you may be largely limited to living in an urban area with a solid public transportation system to get you around.  While urban areas may have advantages such as access to libraries and perhaps traditional chapels one can get to on food or by transit, they also will be more expensive for housing and groceries.
 
I mentioned “groceries” rather than “food” on purpose.  I’ve never claimed to be very smart about money, but one thing I learned early on in my 70+ years is that one of the easiest and surest ways to reduce one’s expenses / increase one’s available income for essentials and savings is to buy food in as natural and unprocessed a state as feasible and cook meals from scratch at home.  It would behoove you to learn how to cook, and even garden.  Check out some cookbooks from the library and jump in.  There are also often community classes that one can take to learn these basic life skills.
 
In the current economy retail, hospitality, and service jobs are readily available (at minimum wage, but that is $15.00 per hour in Washington and other states).  I had a part time job as the manager of a small rural branch of our local library system, and the town branches (accessible by public transit) are frequently hiring for full and part time clerks.  I think a library job might be well suited to an aspiring scholar.  In rural areas you might find seasonal work in agriculture but you would have to get to the farms unless you were in walking distance.  In the latter case (living on a farm) how would you get to the nearest town or village to buy groceries and supplies?
 
None of these factors are necessarily unsurmountable barriers, but they are issues that need to be thoroughly thought through and addressed.
 
In addition to the two pieces of advice others gave (develop self-discipline and time management, and determine how you will support yourself) I’ve added: (3) Make sure the eyesight issue has been completely checked out and sorted; (4) Learn how to cook.