“I believe I know the only cure, which is to make one’s center of life inside of one’s self, not selfishly or excludingly, but with a kind of unassailable serenity – to decorate one’s inner home so richly that one is content there, glad to welcome anyone who wants to come and stay, but happy all the same when one is inevitably alone.”
The “cure” that Pulitzer Prize winning author Edith Wharton is referring to in the above quote is the malaise that visits many of us from time to time. This ill-at-easeness is the opposite of “unassailable serenity” and is an indication that we have lost touch with our soul. We can function well enough despite this alienation from our sacred self, but there may be a lingering sense that life could be and should be more rewarding.
What is one to do in the face of this condition? What if anything ought we do to climb out of this abyss? Wharton suggests that the cure is not to attempt to overcome the likes of restlessness, lostness, and ennui, but to hunker down, to shelter in place as it were, and instead attend to the environment she refers to as our “inner-home.”
What might it mean to “decorate” the interior of our self? What can we do to be content with who we are? The response to these questions may differ for each of us, but it seems that some elements of an inner-decor are universal. I think that gifting ourselves with compassion, forgiveness, patience, and a general kindness are the sine qua non of any deeply contented person. This does not mean that we should never confront our sometimes wayward ways, but if and when this is called for, it ought to be done with the same firm but gentle touch we would offer to others, and hope they would extend to us.
Wharton makes a point of saying that making the center of life inside ourselves should not be selfish or excluding. We attend to the interior of our selves not only to be comfortable when we are alone, but in order to offer others a place where they can feel at home. No one wants to welcome guests into a messy house, and no one wants to visit one that is in disarray.
Attuned to Soul 