I often think of the hermits of ancient Egypt who dug their own graves and wept in them day and night. When asked why they cried they replied that they wept for their soul.

In the infinity of the desert, a grave is an oasis, a place for comfort. To have a fixed place in space, one digs a hole in the desert. And one dies so that won't get lost.

E.M. Cioran, Tears and Saints