Meet Sister Mary Joseph who passed away on the fifth of June. Sister Mary was a Carmelite nun with an uncommon backstory. A wealthy heiress, she had all the things most people aspire to in a Western, liberal democracy: She had a nine-bedroom mansion in San Fransisco overlooking the bay, designer clothes including a shoe collection that made Imelda Marcos's "look pitiful by comparison", a contact list of the rich and powerful including Nancy Regan, and had 10 children and 28 grandchildren. But she gave it all up to join one of the strictest contemplative monastic orders for women: The Order of Discalced Carmelites.

What do most people aspire to? If Social Media is any indication, it’s money. Conspicuous displays of wealth are pretty common in mainstream music, and there are plenty of places you can go to fake being on a private jet for your Instagram account. Ann Russell Miller (Sister Mary’s name before taking her religious vows) was born to a wealth family, married a wealthy man, and had all the trappings of wealth mentioned above. She was a philanthropist, donating her time and money to various charities. She travelled, scuba dived, and participated in archaeological digs. In short, she would have had tens of thousands of followers on Insta.

On the other side of the coin, The Discalced Carmelites were founded in the 16th Century by two pivotal mystics in the Christian tradition, St Theresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. St Theresa and St John sought to reform the Carmelite order based upon the contemplative example of the aforementioned Desert Fathers and Mothers and the early Christian hermits that lived on Mount Carmel. The “rule of life” that the Discalced (from Latin meaning “without shoes” as a marker of their extreme poverty) Carmelites follow seems severe: They don’t own anything, don’t speak any more than is necessary, and live in seclusion from society, including from their own family. Why do they do this? For partially the same reason people climb mount Everest, or join the Army, or run marathons, or become piano virtuosos: Some of the most rewarding things in life are the most challenging to do. Or said another way, self-discipline provides an avenue to self-fulfilment that simply accumulating things can never do.

But the difference between Sister Mary’s example and Sir Edmund Hilary’s is humility. Both were examples of well-honed self-discipline (or mortification of the flesh in Christian parlance) but living a cloistered existence with no public to acknowledge your sacrifices or your achievements is about as humble as you can get. What’s more, the simple focus of Sister Mary was only one thing… The thing. Sir Edmund exhibited a single-mindedness when he climbed Mount Everest but he also dabbled in politics and philanthropy. Sister Mary’s one and only purpose for the last thirty-five years of her life was establishing the fullest relationship with God possible for her, and in so doing undoubtedly found fulfilment, perhaps unlocking some of the mysteries of the universe while she was at it.