What being vaccinated has taught me about spiritual restlessness

During the course of COVID quarantine, something remarkable happened: I tasted satisfaction, even happiness. No doubt St. Augustine was right that our souls are restless until they rest in God. But when all my travel was canceled, my office was moved to my basement, and my world shrank to the size of our modest ranch home and its sunny front yard, my own restless soul experienced a season of contentment.

I began to look forward to a daily breakfast of oatmeal and banana, and I found pleasure in the hum of the bowl as I scratched it clean with a scrub brush every morning. Taking a walk with my kids or watching a squirrel arc its way across the yard—these became occasions of genuine joy. When a friend posed the question on Facebook, “What surprising thing have you learned about yourself in pandemic?” I found myself responding: “How little I need beyond my family, some good books and movies, my walks, and time to write and pray.”

It seems I was discovering the meaning of enough.