A Monk Among Us, The European Edition — David Brown

Monk is cool. He’s the guy you want to help you handle any situation. Whenever people are over reacting or giving into their lesser natures, Monk is the guy that can help them find their way back to their better or truer selves. Always serene and yet always intriguingly human, Monk relies on his ability to stay in the moment all of the time in order to draw on his sense of spirit to help guide him in any interaction. One reason he is able to live in the present is that he lives an incredibly simple life and has devoted himself to the vows of poverty, celibacy, community, and generosity, which why he calls himself a Monk even though he has no formal affiliation with a religious order.For twelve years he has lived as a monk in his shack in the middle of one of the poorest and roughest neighborhoods in the city doing whatever he can to alleviate the suffering when he meets an aggressive, high powered Manhattan lawyer who is going through a spiritual crisis. In need of some meaning in her life; Lila comes to the Mission Center where Monk works to help pass out Thanksgiving Day meals to families in need. She is immediately drawn to his soulful manner and a challenging romance between them follows. For Monk, Lila’s highly volatile and reactive approach to life, creates complications he has not had to deal with in years, but embraces the relationship bravely in contrast to Lila who is afraid of, yet attracted to this man who offers her something she has never really known and has always feared – love.