"Society... was regarded (by the Desert Fathers) as a shipwreck from which each single individual man had to swim for his life... These were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tents and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster.

They knew that they were helpless to do any good for others as long as they floundered about in the wreckage. But once they got a foothold on solid ground, things were different. They had not only the power but even the obligation to pull the whole world to safety around them."

Therefore the desert fathers decided they needed to put off their compulsive selves, throwing the compulsive self into the furnace of transformation, or solitude (in the desert). This would be the place where they would face their demons and temptations. It was there that the would purge anything of the false compulsive self and transform into the new self, becoming gracious and compassionate ministers. They did not pursue solitude in order to move away from people but rather to move closer to them through compassionate ministry.

"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus himself entered into this furnace.  There he was tempted with the three compulsions of the world:

1. To be relevant (turn stones into loaves)
2. To be spectacular (to throw yourself down)
3. To be powerful (I will give you all these kingdoms)

There he affirmed God as the only source of his identity (You must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone)."

From The Way of the Heart