Secular people say, “How lucky are the wealthy people who live in
palaces and have all kinds of conveniences:” In truth, blessed are
those who have succeeded in simplifying their lives and freeing
themselves from the yoke of worldly progress, of the many conveniences
that have become inconveniences, and have consequently rid themselves
of the dreadful anxiety that plagues so many, people today. If man does
not simplify his life, he will end up tormenting himself. But if he
simplifies it, all his anxiety will go away.
A German man at Sinai told a very intelligent Bedouin boy, “You are
intelligent, you can become literate.” “And then?” the boy asked.
“Well, then you will become a car mechanic.” “And then?” the boy
repeated. “Then you’ll open a car shop.” “And then?” the boy asked
again. “Then you will grow up and you will hire others to work for you,
and you will have your own staff.” “In other words,” the boy said, “I
will pile one headache on top of the other. Isn’t it better now that my
mind is free of worries?” Most headaches are the result of all these
thoughts we have about doing this and doing that … But if our thoughts
were spiritual in nature, we would feel divine consolation and be
cured of headaches.
These days I stress simplicity to lay people too, because many of
the things they do are not necessary and they end up being consumed by
anxiety. I speak to them of austerity and asceticism. I constantly
scold them, “If you want to get rid of anxiety, simplify your lives!”
That is how most divorces start. People have to do too many things,
too many obligations and they get dizzy. Both parents work and abandon
the children. The result is fatigue and nervousness, which causes
small issues to turn into large quarrels and then to automatic
divorces; that’s “where they end up. But if they simplified their
lives, they would find rest and joy. Stress is catastrophic.
Once I was at a very plush house where they told me in conversation,
“We live in Paradise, while other people are in such great need.” “You
live in hell,” I replied. “God said to the rich man, Fool, This night your soul is required of you (Lk. 12:20). If
Christ were to ask me, ‘Where should I put you in a house like this or
in prison?’ I would reply, ‘In the dark prison.’
Because a prison
would do me good; it could remind me of Christ, the holy martyrs, the
ascetics who lived in the holes of the earth, it would remind me of
monastic life. The prison would resemble my cell a bit and I would be
happy. But what would this palace of a house remind me of and how would
that help me? That is why I find prison cells much more restful than a
worldly living room. I even find it more restful than a beautiful
monastic cell. I would rather spend one thousand nights in a prison
cell, than one day in a plush house.”
Once, when I was staying with a friend in Athens, he asked me to
receive a family man who could only see me very early in the morning,
at dawn, because that was the only time he had available. He arrived in
a cheerful mood praising God in every other word. He was full of
humility and simplicity and begged me to pray for his family. This
brother, who was about thirty-eight years old, had seven children. At
home, they were eleven souls, because his parents lived with him, and
they all shared the same room. He spoke with great simplicity, “The
room fit us all if we stand up, but if we lie down it is a bit tight.
”Thank God, now we are constructing a shed to use as a kitchen and we
are doing fine. Father,” he said “at least we have a roof over our
head, while other people live in. the open air.”
The man was an ironer. He lived in Athens and had to leave everyday
before dawn to arrive in Peiraeus in time for work in a dry-cleaning
shop.
He was suffering from varicose veins as a result of having to
stand up all that: time and his legs bothered him a lot, but his love
for his family made him forget his pain and discomfort. In fact he
pitied himself constantly for not having, as he said any love in his
heart, because he did not do any acts of Christian charity and praised
his wife for being charitable Apparently, besides taking care of her
children and her parents in-law, she would wash the clothes of some
elderly men in the neighbourhood, tidy up their homes and even cook
a little something, like soup, for them.
You could see divine Grace
depicted on the face of this good family man. He had Christ in his
heart and was full of joy, just like his one-room house was filled with
heavenly bliss. Compare this man with people who do not have Christ in
their heart; they are filled with anxiety. Take two of then and try to
fit them in a house large enough for eleven people; they will not find
a way to fit.
Even some spiritual people will sometimes not be able to live
together, no matter how much space they have available, because they
don’t have the fullness of Christ in their heart. If the women of Pharasa could
see our luxuries, especially in some Monasteries, they would say, “We
have abandoned God and He will send down fire to burn us!”
I remember them performing all their chores in matter of seconds.
They had to take the goats out, first in the morning, and then tidy up
the house. After that they would go to the Chapels or gather in caves
and those who could read would read the Life of the Saints of the day.
Next they would do their prostrations and say the Jesus Prayer. And
they would work and work without getting tired. Those days, a woman had
to know how to mend clothes.
And they would mend the clothes by hand;
there were a few sewing machines in cities but no sewing machines in
the villages and if I remember right, in the whole town of Pharasa there
was one, maybe two they used to sew their family’s clothes and they
were very comfortable to wear. They would also knit socks by hand. They
had a caring taste (meraki) but they also had enough time for all these chores because they did things in a simple way. The people of Pharasa did
not pay attention to details. They enjoyed the joy of monastic life.
And if, for example, the blanket did not sit right from one side of the
bed and you told them, “Straighten out the blanket,” they would
respond, “Why, does it prevent you from praying?”
This kind of joyful monastic life is unknown today. Most people
believe that they should not go into any trouble, or be deprived of
anything. But if they thought in monastic terms and lived with more
simplicity, they could find the peace they are seeking. Instead, they
are filled with anxiety and despair.
They say, “So and so was very
successful because he built two apartment buildings, or because he
learned five languages and so on. And I do not even own one apartment
and I do not even speak one foreign language. Oh, I am good for
nothing!” A person with a car thinks, “This man has a better car; I
should buy one too.” So he buys the better car, but he feels no joy
because someone else has an even better one. He buys even better car
but then he learns that others have their own private aeroplanes and he
is unhappy again.
There is no end to this. But a person who doesn’t
have a car rejoices when he praises God. “Thank God,” he says, “even if
I do not have a car, I have strong legs and I can walk. How many
people are there in the world who do not have legs and cannot take care
of their needs and go for walks? I at least have my legs!” And a lame
person says, “There are some people who are missing both legs,” and
that makes him rejoice.
Ingratitude and greed cause a lot of harm. The person possessed by
material things is always possessed by worries and anxiety because he
trembles at the thought that he may lose both his belongings and his
soul. One suet wealthy man came from Athens and told me, “Father, my
children will not listen to me anymore, I have lost them;” “How many
children do you have,” I asked him. “Two” he said. “I raised them in
luxury. They had everything they wanted. I even bought them a car,” In
the course of the conversation, I found out that he and his wife each
had their own car. “Dear man,” I said, “instead of solving your
problems you made them worse.
Now you need a large garage to put all
the cars and a mechanic to service them. You will have to pay him
fourfold and moreover all four of you are in danger of killing
yourselves at any time. On the contrary, if you had simplified your life
your family would be united and you would have understanding for each
other, and none of the problems you are describing. It’s not your
children’s fault. It is your fault for not trying to educate them in
other ways.” A family does not need four cars, a garage and a mechanic
and so on. Let one of you reach his destination a bit late. All these
conveniences beget difficulties.
Another family man arrived at my Kalyvi (monk cell) once.
He had family of five. He told me: “Father, we have a car and we are
thinking of buying another two. It would help us a lot.” I said “Did
you think of how difficult this is going make your life? If you have
one car you can easily park it somewhere; where are you going to put
three of them? You will need a garage and an extra tank of fuel. And
moreover, you will put your life in danger. It’s better to have only
one car and limit your outings. You will have time to see your
children. You will have peace of mind. Simplifying one’s life is the
most important thing.” “I never thought of that,” he replied.
– Geronda (Elder in Greek), a man told us that twice he could not
stop his car alarm. The first time it was due to a fly and the second
time, he tried to get in the car the wrong way.
– People’s lives are sheer misery because they do not
simplify things. Most of the conveniences we have cause difficulties.
Those who live in the world often suffocate from abundance. They have
filled their life with gadgets and devices but this only makes it more
difficult to enjoy it. If we don’t simplify things, one convenience will result into numerous difficulties and we will end up miserable.
When we were little, we used to cut off the spool at the end and put
a wedge in it, turning it into a nice and enjoyable game for
ourselves. Small kids enjoy playing with a toy car much more than their
father enjoys his new Mercedes. If one asks a little girl, “What do
you want, a doll or an apartment building?” you will see that she will
say “a doll”. But in the end, small children too get to know the
vanity of the world.
– Geronda, what helps the most when one is trying to grasp the joy of austerity?
- It helps if you can grasp the deeper meaning of life seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mt. 6:33). Simplicity begins from there, so does every proper approach of life.
Taken from “With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man”
Taken from “With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man”
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