St. Nadie in Winter: Zen Encounters with Loneliness

St. Nadie in Winter offers a memoir of one man's spiritual development as well as a poet's exploration of personal and spiritual relationships in our often alienating modern world. Both the prose and poetry will touch chords of recognition within the reader; they are both as accessible as a conversation with a good friend. Rinzai monk Keenan takes the reader along a path of troubling times, his struggle with alcohol, difficulties in his marriage, through to an understanding of who he is, and how to create a life filled with joy and meaning, rather than sorrow and loneliness. In doing so, he tells the story of everyman or everywoman struggling, alone, in the hope of finding a place to call home within his or her skin. Keenan's narrative provides evidence that we are all connected and share this life, even when separated by disparate geographic and cultural groundings. Keenan's poetry, sprinkled liberally throughout the book, adds dimension to the prose, telling the story from his heart with finely drawn images. As his rational mind tells of spiritual evolution through prose, the artistic Keenan parallels it in the unfolding poetry. In the beginning, we see the early St. Nadie as an observer--of nature, of relationships, and of himself. But as that 'no one' struggles to find a peace for himself within the world, fights through his alcoholism, and finally arrives to start along the path of a Zen Buddhist monk, the poetry changes. The mature poet is less an observer and descriptor of the world than he is the world's voice. Nature in the later poems is not separate from the poet, nor are the relationships and people 'other' or apart from him. The later poems speak in a voice tinged with compassion and understanding, a voice which arises from a heart connected to everything by love. A quick read of St. Nadie in Winter can smooth a troubled mind, offer basic instruction on Zen practice, and give lie to the fear that we are all in this life alone and unaided. A deeper read, or a second read, supplies instruction in how to find our path, how to heal the hurts and fears that we ourselves are not enough. It is not the good or awful things that we have done that matter; it is what we learn and how we grow from them. For, as Keenan alludes in his last poem, the path we take is not to be regretted, merely traveled fully and from the heart.

One might think it takes courage and bravery to open up and reveal the most intimate truthes about oneself. Or perhaps in this case, it takes a profound understanding of who oneself really is. Mr. Keenan has written a most poignant and non-dogmatic description of what a life consists of. Combining prose and poetry, his book is not a self-help manual, or yet another zen biography, but rather an honest recounting or accounting of scenes along the way. It is refreshing, beautiful, and sincere, and I am full of gratitude for having read it.