Have you ever been exasperated by roadblocks, delays, or unexpected detours? Have you ever missed your turn or found yourself headed in an entirely new direction? Did you embrace it, fight it, or complain about it? Did you get worked up over circumstances you can’t control?
I often write about discovering our true selves. Our lives and our experiences act as our roadmap. We can look back to where we’ve been. We can reflect on where we are today. We can plan where to go next.
My childhood friend Julie was visiting last weekend. She invited me to attend a lecture at Georgetown University on the college course The Problem with God. The course is designed “to explore the possibilities of and challenges to religious belief in a contemporary context.” Sign me up!! Thank goodness we are talking about the lifelong journey of being human: seeking our purpose and nurturing our connection to the Divine. This is a conversation we should never stop having, because it remains meaningful at every age and stage of our lives.
Today I’m writing about the “path of interiority”.
The definition of interiority is kinda obscure if it is new to you.
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Interiority: (noun) the quality or state of being inward or internal
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A good synonym is: inwardness.
“Do not wander far and wide, but return into yourself.
Deep within man there dwells the truth.” - Saint Augustine
This blog post is inspired by my friend Mary. She lives in Louisiana. Most Monday afternoons, I gather via video chat with a few other spiritual life seekers.
One day, she smiled widely and said, Y’all, I have to show you something. She went on to show us an unassuming “Post-it” note on her bulletin board that reads: “God is in the detours”.
Is God in the detours?
Maybe this was a message meant just for me!! Perhaps I need to see life as a series of stepping stones rather than endless roadblocks. Maybe life’s detours are designed to help us see and experience things in new ways.
The path to interiority or inwardness doesn’t happen easily. If you imagine walking on a sidewalk, you might visualize a smooth sidewalk. But honestly, they are often cracked, tree-rooted, or blocked. Frankly, sometimes the sidewalk ends.
Here’s an example. When I reflect on where my art is today and where it was 18 months ago…it’s on a completely different level. I never expected my art to take such a dramatic change in direction. I was content challenging myself as a watercolorist.
I am so deeply immersed in a vastly different medium and artistic practice that I don’t necessarily recognize myself. I am so inspired and challenged that I dream about this day and night! My mind, body, and spirit remember the exact moment I ripped open something inside me that I had never felt before. I have NEVER been so creative, so curious, so motivated, and so messy!
Is it textile art, or collage? mixed-media? I don’t know, follow me and we'll see where this journey takes me. I have found my voice and the desire to unfurl my story.
Here’s how my detour metaphor takes shape. It’s more than just art. It’s all of me. Finally, I can say my art is an extension of who I am. My art is how I see, feel, and experience the world (beauty, imperfections, and all).
All my life, I have been trying to understand who I am supposed to be. True understanding of ourselves comes from learning from our experiences. Allow those experiences to teach you and guide you. What I am trying to say is you cannot embrace a new thought, idea, or opportunity unless you are willing to go in a direction you have never considered before.
I just finished reading The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. These passages resonated with me regarding “inwardness”.
- “What hope do we have of finding rest outside of ourselves if we cannot be at ease within?”
- “There is no reason to think that everyone else should follow our path.”
- “The truth is, the treasure is inside of us.”
Throughout my life, I might have missed some cues (the road taken and not taken), but the truth is, you can’t find peace, contentment, or your true self by taking shortcuts. You also cannot skip the messiness of the human experience, but you can enrich it by integrating your daily life with a spiritual path.
Trust the path you are on and go at your own pace. It's never too late to learn, become, and love who you are.
Embrace the detours, adjust your course when needed, and keep moving forward. You may stumble from time to time, but you'll surprise yourself with your resilience and growth.
Peace.
JJH
*The Problem with God. https://theology.georgetown.edu/about/problem-of-god/
*The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila. (I suggest the translation by Mirabai Starr.)
https://store.cac.org/products/the-interior-castle
