The Soul Longs for Simplicity
Today’s post is a continuation of portions of three different posts from January 2020. The theme is Simplicity.
Several years ago, I attended a one-hour organizational workshop. The influential presenter told her audience if they hadn’t used an item in a year or didn’t love it “70 percent,” get rid of it. I really took the “70 percent” rule to heart until one day my exasperated husband said, “Sue, if you don’t stop it, I’m going to start wondering if I love YOU 70 percent!”
Something in the human psyche longs for simplicity. Many ancient contemplative spiritual practices stress simplicity. When I was introduced to several a few years ago, I describe the profound discovery as “finding my soul’s true home.”
The Apostle Paul urged simplicity, telling early Christians to aspire to lead a quiet life. (1 Thessalonians 4:11).
François Fénelon, a 17th Century theologian, exclaimed, “O, how amiable this simplicity is!”
St. Ignatius, a 16th Century mystic and founder of the Jesuits, prayed, “Give me only your grace and love…”
in his book, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer, a 20th Century Christian pastor, claimed even the modern church, “mired in an age of religious complexity, has lost the simplicity, which is in Christ …”
The greater the culture’s complexity, the greater seems the yearning for simplicity. Once upon a time, contemplative spirituality was found in only Orthodox or Catholic faith traditions. Today, many others, including Evangelical Christians, are drawn to ancient Christian traditions.
One woman I met had been active in a parachurch organization that strongly promoted the study of Scripture. She told me she and several friends agreed they longed at a deep spiritual level to know not only the Word of God but the God of the Word. These sincere seekers do not want to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater, but they recognize cognitive pursuit does not necessarily satisfy intrinsic longings of the soul.
I’m expecting my 2020 theme of Simplicity will reveal ways to enjoy more fully the meaningful journey with which I’ve been blessed. I anticipate it will also provide awareness of environmental, relational, or cultural issues that cause me to become distracted or entangled in “stuff,” perceptions, and emotions which encumber and complicate the “freedom” for which Christ came to give us (See Galatians 5:1).
(Sue’s January 2023 note concerning this last paragraph: As I’ve continued the study of spiritual direction and pursued the practice of various spiritual disciplines, I have experienced exactly what I expected in 2020. It has resulted in a more peaceful soul, and created a longing for even more of the good gifts I believe God wants to give each of us!)
Blessings as you listen to your soul’s longing for greater simplicity,
