Traveling Through the Pandemic to Our Interior Life
“Rarely do we reflect upon what gifts our souls may possess, who dwells within them, or how extremely precious they are. Therefore we do little to preserve their beauty; all our care is concentrated on our bodies, which are but the coarse setting of the diamond, or the outer walls of the castle” (St. Teresa of Avila).
Did we even know that we needed a world pandemic to bring us to our knees?
Loneliness. Disarray. Isolation. Death. Destruction. Racism. Gated churches. Closed borders. Tanking economies. Jobless populations.
Our work, our faith, our hearts, and our families have been tested by fire the past few months. We’ve had a season like none other to refine our priorities, refocus our dreams, and rebuild our bank accounts. We’re traveling through the trauma, and we have the opportunity to evaluate who we’ve become and what we hold dear. Over the past six months, who hasn’t breathed in fresh air a little deeper? Who hasn’t stopped to admire something they wouldn’t have noticed in their daily fret? Who hasn’t been faced with profound stillness, with the realization that circumstances are simply out of our control?
More importantly, who hasn’t been brought face to face with the reality that their pursuits might not align with what’s best for their heart and soul, or that the state of their soul might not have held much importance previously?
St. Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite mystic who was very aware of the supreme value that the interior life holds over the exterior life. Her book “The Interior Castle” likens the spiritual life of growing closer to Christ to a seven-walled castle whose interior-most chamber houses Christ, light, and life. The words written by this Doctor of the Church in the 16th century are as true today as they were then. How often do we really challenge ourselves to journey closer to God and preserve the gifts and beauty of our souls?
Focusing on Relationship
I feel like I’ve gone through many waves of emotion and heartache over the course of this unexpected year. From setting up a home office and strategizing on working remotely to jumpstarting a workout schedule to carving out time for spiritual reading and prayer, the ebbs and flows of what I devote attention to and my corresponding feelings about a topic are as flighty as the coronavirus itself.
These past few months have given us an opportunity to cultivate our hearts and remember who we are and what we need, because they’ve wreaked havoc in our mind and in our world. We’ve been forced to stillness — exactly where God is.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we took advantage of this particular time to focus on beautifying our spiritual life? Not surprisingly, a fact emerged during COVID-19: that even digital transformation strategies have shifted, casting a much greater focus on delivering human-centric experiences. Technology has been clipping along at an astronomical speed, and at times, it seems like society may be at risk of leaving people out of the equation. As it turns out, focusing on relationships is not only good for our souls, but it’s good for business.
And how can we authentically foster relationships? By striving to see people as God sees people, from a soul attuned to His truth and light.
Writing Your Next Chapter
How will this experience have changed you? What will you have learned? Who will you have become?
As we’re on our knees praying through the storm, I pray we remember that the closer we grow to Christ, the more weatherproof our fortress becomes.
Laura Pugliano is marketing and content strategist at the digital solutions provider Candoris and an alumna of Franciscan University of Steubenville. Along with her husband, she’s working to launch a brand and bottle the olive oil that her Italian in-laws produce in Southern Italy, where she and her family spend summers in the sea, sun, and olive groves. Join Laura on Twitter and Instagram.