Stillness

It was said that there were three friends who were not afraid of hard work. The first one chose to reconcile those who were fighting each other, as it is said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The second one chose to visit the sick. The third went to live in prayer and stillness in the desert. Now in spite of all his labors, the first one could not make peace in all men’s quarrels; and in his sorrow he went to him who was serving the sick, and he found him also disheartened, for he could not fulfill that commandment either. So they went together to see him who was living in the stillness of prayer. They told him their difficulties and begged him to tell them what to do. After a short silence, he poured some water into a bowl and said to them, “Look at the water,” and it was disturbed. After a little while he said to them again, “Look how still the water is now,” and as they looked into the water, they saw their own faces reflected in it as in a mirror. Then he said to his friends, “It is the same for those who live among men; disturbances prevent them from seeing their own faults. But when a man is still, especially in the desert, then he sees his failings.”


A thank you for this quote goes to Word From the Desert