Recently, I have been working on a book chapter about St. Teresa of Avila for the upcoming book, Leadership from a Soul Center (2027 publication). Teresa is an inspiration in many ways for the times we are in. Her famous poem prayer invites us into a powerful interior posture and these words come out of her own journey of challenge and difficulty.
As a Carmelite nun in the 16C, Teresa was surrounded by a system that had gone a little stale. She was criticized and misunderstood for her deep spirituality which caused tremendous self-doubt and inner questioning of her experience in prayer. However, at the age of 49, there was a moment where she was witnessed by another. This experience led her into a greater fidelity to her own soul, to a trust in the beauty and grace she was knowing within. This poem and prayer then flowed from her:
Nada te turbe; nada te espante; todo se pasa; dios no se muda, la paciencia todo lo alcanza. Quien a Dios tiene, nada le falta. Solo Dios basta.
Let nothing disturb you; let nothing make you afraid; all things pass; but God is unchanging. Patience is enough for everything. You who have God lack nothing. God alone is sufficient. (Gerald May, Dark Night of the Soul, Harper Collins Pub)
There is so much that can disturb us, that can frighten us. What Teresa invites us to know is a deep abiding presence in the midst of challenge, in the midst of controversy, in the midst of not being known or understood. Teresa invites us into the interior life, to quiet and still our soul that we may remember something deeper than our fears. It is when Teresa deepened into this in her own life, that she was inspired to create profound reform within the Carmelite order which impacted all of Spain and beyond.
A question that always lives in me is ‘what is mine to do?’ Especially when there is chaos, stress, and heightened anxiety, my nervous system can get caught in the hurricane of winds in the environment. However, the inner path to the soul, continually invites me to listen in the midst of the storm – and not be disturbed or frightened, but to listen to the gentle guidance of Wisdom. Oh that we might listen to this profound source again and again! For surely, there is life and inspiration here in the quiet.
