The Interruptions Are as Integral as the Plan

“When I imagine my own life simple and uncomplicated, I picture my room and desk tidy, everything in its place. I myself am moving gracefully and graciously from one task to the next with precision, on schedule but with no strain or pressure. The schedule and the tasks are perfectly synchronized. It could all be so simple, I say to myself, if everything were only in its place.

But it isn’t. It’s complicated. It’s complicated because people don’t stay in place. They aren’t predictable, they foul up my schedule, they interfere with my agenda, they make demands I hadn’t programmed. It’s complicated because there is too much to do, too many tasks, too many needs, too much going on. I can’t keep up with it all; I’m always at least a step or two behind. I can’t do everything that needs to be done; I feel burdened, sometimes even guilty, for being so limited. And I think maybe I’m doing it wrong, and if I could just figure out how to do it right I’d be able to meet everyone’s needs. It’s complicated because there’s never enough time. In my anxiety to conquer time by controlling its dispensation, I feel myself victimized by it. I am unable to find time, take time, get time: all control words.

Mostly what I find is frustration. My life is out of control. I feel a need to be in control of my life and all the factors, situations, and people that complicate it. I set myself over-against them and need to dominate them, to subject them to my agenda, fit them into my program. I do have an agenda, and I don’t want it interrupted. I set up my day and I offer it to God.

But there’s something wrong in the picture. When I imagine – or when I experience – the simple way, everything moves in a rhythm. There is an agenda, and I’m in tune with it, but it’s not my creation. I don’t need to worry about controlling; I don’t need to be anxious that it won’t all work out. I’m not in command and don’t need to be; I’m not in the foreground and not in the center. I’m only part of a large, moving scene. The interruptions are as integral to the scene as anything I had planned. I only receive the day and the program that comes to me during the day from God. And that’s what makes the difference.”

— Elaine M. Prevallet, 1982
Theologian, teacher, and Catholic nun

Reader Responses

How do beauty, art, and leisure fit into your ideas of simplicity?

When you think of simplifying your life, what are you making space for?

I've found that quilting has opened my life to charity, recycling, quiet time, art and leisure. I make quilts for the charity Comfort Cases. They provide backpacks containing essentials that a child might need when entering the foster care system. I make the quilts using both new fabric and upcycled clothing. I spend my quilt-making time in total silence so that I can feel God and allow God's Love to flow through me into the quilt I am making. The quilts are simple - made from humble garments - yet they contain pure love for a child that is currently feeling confused, lost, and abandoned in the world. I pray every child that gets one will feel the loving embrace of God and know that God's love never fades.

Kelly L., Parkland, FL, USA
This is, for me, a very complicated question. Like much of our walk in the Light, there is a narrow ridge between enforced asceticism/simplicity on one side and extravagance of performance and technique on the other, perhaps exemplified by Fox's diatribe against fashion on the one hand and Fell's "silly poor gospel" on the other. I find that, as I try to be more faithful to my Guide, that my interest in the arts wanes. 

Nevertheless, there is still a deep tug of admiration for those who have developed gifts and skills that bring beauty and sometimes meaning into the world. I can only trust that our Guide will lead us into an even better balance.

I am reminded of the experience of a Friend, a gifted professional musician who has been drawn into a ministry of music, describing the somewhat difficult transition from performance to ministry.

Joe S., Portland, OR, USA

This Week’s Messages

Mon Jun 16

Time Ceases to Be the Enemy

“Most of us need from time to time the experience of something spacious or space-making, when Time ceases to be the enemy, goad-in-hand, and becomes our friend. To read good literature, gaze on natural beauty, to follow cultivated pursuits until our spirits are refreshed and expanded, will not unfit us for the up and doing of life, whether of personal or church affairs.” …
Tue Jun 17

The Quaker Concept of “Retirement”

“Retirement is considered by the Quakers as a Christian duty. The members, therefore, of the Society are expected to wait in silence, not only in their places of worship, but occasionally in their families, or in their private chambers, in the intervals of their daily occupations, that, in stillness of heart, and in freedom from the active contrivance of their own wills, they may acquire both directions and strength for the performance of the duties of life.” …
Wed Jun 18

Art Is a Manifestation of God

“The history of the protest of early Friends against excess and ostentatious superfluity is fascinating. It is easy to ridicule their apparent denial of the Arts; yet it must be admitted that, certainly visually, out of it there was born an austere, spare, refreshingly simple beauty… What is hopeful is that in the Society there is no finality; we can laugh at ourselves and go on learning. As long as we are given to constant revision there is hope for us. Special pleading for the Arts is no longer needed. They are not viewed, as they once were, as a distraction from God. Rather they are seen as a manifestation of God.” …
Thu Jun 19

What God Is Asking Us to Do

“Incomparably the most important thing is that each one of us should be sensitive to the call of God to ourselves and not spend time in passing judgment on the lives of others. To some the call will be to adopt the witness of great simplicity, perhaps to live in an Indian village or in a London slum. To others the most important thing will be to maintain our ancient testimony against ‘fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatever.'” …
Fri Jun 20

Simplicity, Beauty, and Happiness Go Together

“Simplicity, beauty, and happiness go together if they are a by-product of a concern for something more important than ourselves.” …
Sat Jun 21

Our Senses Are Given to Us to Enjoy

“All our senses are given to us to enjoy, and to praise God. The smell of the sea, of the blossom borne on the wind, of the soft flesh of a little baby; the taste of a ripe plum or bread fresh from the oven, the feel of warm cat’s fur, or the body of a lover – these are all forms of thanksgiving prayer.” …

Banner art © 2010 Liz Di Giorgio
Read the source of today’s quote

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Author

  • Elaine Prevallet is a member of the Sisters of Loretto who was on the teaching staff of Pendle Hill from 1976-78. She led a number of retreats at Pendle Hill on simplicity.

    View all posts