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And the thing about busyness for me was it kept me from having to face things that I preferred ignoring. It allowed me to not pay attention to some of the deeper issues in my life that were troubling and even haunting.

Why is solitude important, and why it is so difficult for us to attain in today's life?

I think most folks fear solitude. Kierkegaard said, "If you want to know how society feels about solitude, look at the way they punish." Solitary confinement is one of the worst forms of punishment, it seems. And I think some of that has to do with when you come to stillness, when you get alone and quiet, you really are left with yourself. I believe that in a lot of our lives there are things that we just don't want to face, things within ourselves. I think also our view of God has a lot to do with it. If God is demanding, if God is someone who's always bringing to our attention the shameful things we've done, then why in the world would we want to be in a quiet place alone with God and with ourselves?

You left your busy life and started a new ministry that has given you the opportunity to spend more time in quietness. I need to ask, is it possible for people who lead busy lives to stay in that active ministry and build a healthier life? Or do a lot of them have to think about making some radical changes?

Although I have made a vocational change, in part for the purpose of having more control of my time, it still can become intensely difficult for me to stop and live the way I really want to live. I think the most important thing for me to mention is how vital it is for us to give attention to our desires. I believe ultimately we do a lot of the things that we really desperately want to do. I find a way to read the newspaper just about every day. When my favorite team is playing ball, I just find a way to watch the game. And so I'm not sure there's anything more important for us to be honest about than what is our desire? How much do we really long for God?

One of the things you talk about in developing your soul, is understanding how sorrow is part of life and how it enriches our soul. How did you come to learn those kinds of lessons?

I tell my friends I have a severe allergic reaction to sorrow, to disappointment, to pain. I guess most folks would say the same. I began to notice in the lives of people around me a richness, an intimacy with God that I longed for. And almost in every case I would discover this is a person who has become very acquainted with sorrow. This is a person who has known disappointment and pain. And it's been living into and through that difficulty that has brought them the intimacy that I ultimately long for. So I began to experiment and try to embrace some of life's difficulties and disappointments. And I discovered that I was right. It is in sorrow that sometimes we experience most profoundly the nearness of God.

You end your book by talking about joy. In what sense is joy a byproduct of a healthy soul and a growing spiritual life?

I think it's first crucial for a person to understand the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness usually is a result of something that happens. But joy seems to be more about a choice, and the choice is often made to be joyful even in the most difficult of times. It's based on a fundamental belief that God is absolutely crazy about me. God's hopelessly in love with me, loves me so much that he would even allow me to endure sorrow for the purpose, often times, of drawing nearer to him and experiencing this intimacy that ultimately my heart longs for most.

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March (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48