The Damp Murkiness of our Inner Underworld

Last updated on: March 4, 2015 at 3:13 pm by Erin Wathen

The Damp Murkiness of our Inner Underworld 2015-03-04T15:13:11-07:00 Erin Wathen

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“There is a part of the soul that stirs at night, in the dark and soundless times of day, when our defenses are down and our daylight distractions no longer serve to protect us from ourselves. What we suppress in the light emerges clearly in the dusk. It’s then, in the still of life, when we least expect it, that questions emerge from the damp murkiness of our inner underworld.” —Joan Chittister, Between the Dark and the Daylight.

The damp murkiness of our inner underworld?? Sign me up! Not only does that sound like the perfect place to go for weekend getaway during Lent—but my inner Anne Shirley rejoices at the rich poetry of the words themselves. And that’s just the first sentence. This is going to be good stuff.

In her latest book, author, speaker and peace and justice guru Sister Joan Chittister explores some of the most compelling paradoxes of living: the light found within darkness; the failure of success; the productivity of rest; the courage of cowardice; and the certitude of doubt. These are just a few of the dualities that she mines to examine the question of what it means to be human. Each chapter has a mirror—a flip-side discussion of the same paradox, from another angle. That makes the book both contradictory and repetitive at times, but does not diminish its authority. It is a conversation that acknowledges the complexity of all the contradictory things that can be true at the same time; and does not seek to provide easy answers.

It is a fairly short, accessible read. You could easily blow through the whole thing over the course of a weekend retreat or a good snow day. Or—thanks to its short chapters—you could use it as a month-long daily devotion resource, or a weekly discussion text for a small group.

I recommend reading it over time, for two reasons: one, if you plow through the whole thing at once, it can be a little redundant. It is, after all, a book about paradoxes. As the author explores two sides of each contradiction, it is natural that certain points will be repeated. If you read it slowly, over a few weeks, the repetition will serve to emphasize important truths, rather than leave you feeling like, “hey, I just read that.”

But the real reason to sift through this slowly is to fully appreciate the depth, and the poetic rhythm of each section. You want to pace yourself and enjoy the lovely use of language and imagery that unfolds throughout this journey. In other words—sip it like good bourbon, rather than throwing it back like cheap whiskey. There is nothing cheap about this book. Just good, simple, and soul-stirring truth about what it means to be a person. Good stuff for the work of Lent, or any other season when we hope to find ourselves in the presence of something holy.

I’ll leave you with another favorite quote: “If we were forced to live in the peace that is listlessness, we would die from the tedium of it all. We seduce ourselves into thinking that we like the lack of challenge. We forget how dull becalmed can be.”

English majors, rejoice. This is your kind of theology. Says Erin-with-an-E.

Read a book excerpt, a Q&A with Sr. Joan Chittester, and more conversation from Between the Dark and Daylight, at the Patheos Book Club.

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