Just as people do not enter a war in order to enjoy war, but in order to be saved from war, so we do not enter this world in order to enjoy this world, but in order to be saved from it. People go to war for the sake of something greater than war. So we also enter this temporal life for the sake of something greater: for eternal life. And as soldiers think with joy about returning home, so also Christians constantly remember the end of their lives and their return to their heavenly fatherland.
—St. Nicholas of Serbia, Thoughts on Good and Evil
Author: SO GOOD QUOTES
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“If you want to do something but cannot, then before God, who knows our hearts, it is as if we have done it. This is true whether the intended action is good or bad.”
—St. Mark the Ascetic -
This is a bit of a somber exercise, but it’s very powerful:
When you are with your spouse, significant other, best friend or a close relative, picture the moment, in all its mundane detail, as if you’re looking back on it from a point in life where that person is no longer around. No need to imagine any upsetting explanations for their absence; the part of your life that includes that special person is just over, and you are happy to have been with them while your lives overlapped.
Observe them as if you’ve been shipped back from the future, to see them once again on an ordinary day, with absolutely no reason to take it for granted.
You will probably feel a heavy sensation of gratitude, and you’ll find it difficult not to pay attention to the things that were said today.
Things We Said Today
David Cain -
“When you see that you’re making no progress in your spiritual life, don’t despair. But neither should you be content with whatever progress you may have already made.”
—Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra, Mount Athos -
Honest people don’t feel the need to convince you of their honesty.
7 Ways to Spot a Lie -
“I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”
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Too often we emulate someone without realizing we don’t actually want to be like them. We look up to the person with the high-paying job, the prestigious career, or the material possessions for which we yearn, and we believe we want what they have—all the while not realizing how unhappy many of those people actually are.
Instead of emulating someone because of their accomplishments, then, it seems more prudent to emulate them for who they are: to learn from the person, not their facade of so-called achievements. There’s nothing wrong with earning a shedload of money—it’s just that the money doesn’t matter if you’re not happy with who you’ve become in the process.
Who to Emulate?
By Joshua Fields Millburn -
In my life, wherever I was, I accepted everything as the Will of God and lived as if I were to stay in that place forever. This is the only way God wants us to be. Never a thought about the future. The future is His! The whole earth is but a waiting room for Eternity. Are we doing what we should at every moment of our life? Do we love according to the Commandments of God? Do we follow the example of Christ? …We must think always, “How would I behave if Christ were here, visible, near us, everywhere and at all times?” This should be the way of our life… Do not think about tomorrow, for “the morrow will take care of itself.” He Who has freed you from bondage will – if you believe – guide you, like Moses, to the Promised Land… Have no fear… If you have faith, follow the Good Shepherd and everything will be joy, peace, tranquility, and love for everyone and everything.
—Mother Gavrilia (The Ascetic of Love)
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“How long shall we live uselessly and in vain? Because, not to do what is well-pleasing to God is to live uselessly, or rather not merely uselessly, but to our own hurt; for when we have spent the time which has been given us on no good purpose, we shall depart this life to suffer severest punishment for our unseasonable extravagance.”
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“Do not fight to expel the darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny aperture for light to enter and the darkness will disappear.”
Don’t start by removing negatives from your life—begin by adding positives.
SO GOOD QUOTES 