Evelyn Underhill: On Restlessness

What do I do when I'm feeling restless about the pace of my transformation?

In this little letter, Evelyn Underhill¹ shares an important truth I often forget. When I feel restless about the pace of my transformation, it prevents me from participating fully in what God is doing now, in the present moment. Her reminder of stages is helpful too. There are stages I must go through, steps I must take. Each one enables me to step down more deeply into the divine life of humility. Remembering these truths changes my mental outlook. It makes my transformational journey less tense, and more lighthearted; less toil and more playing on the nursery floor.

November 21, 1926

I am very sorry you find the idea of humility depressing! – because really you know it is perfect freedom, and no more depressing than playing on the nursery floor.

What is really depressing you, I think, is that you are straining, perhaps unconsciously, after something which is not in God's purpose for you yet. After all there are many stages in the spiritual life, aren't there? And it is for Him, not you, to decide on the time you remain in each.

I am sure God has something to teach us in every situation in which we are put, and through every person we meet: and once we grasp that, we cease to be restless, and settle down to learn where we are.²

More letters by Evelyn Underhill

Evelyn Underhill: Make a Simple Rule and Stick to It

1. Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) was a British author and spiritual teacher who wrote extensively on the topics of mysticism and meditation. Her best known book, Mysticism, published in 1911, remains a profound and classic text. Underhill championed the contemplative life, believing that only by stilling and quietening the soul can one come to true knowledge and understanding. She once wrote: “Mysticism is the art of union with Reality.”

2. Underhill, Evelyn. The Letters of Evelyn Underhill. United Kingdom: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1991.