“Nothing distinguishes more clearly the disciples of Christ than a humble spirit and a simple way of life.”
Hesychios of Mount Sinai who lived in the eight or ninth century, from Volume 1 of the Philokalia.
Hesychios wrote this living in the desert of Mount Sinai. What would he say about the lives of people today?
How much of our day is taken up with busy work that does nothing more than keep pace with the rat race? How many texts, e-mails, and glances at Facebook are really meaningful?
There is a huge simplify movement afoot, zenhabits.net is one of my favorite websites to visit and is devoted to living the “simple life”. There are many others and the millions of people who visit them are a testimony to the backlash against the constant “business” and lack of stillness in modern life.
Simple does not mean less of a life. It means a deeper life. You can focus on your family, on your dreams and passions, you can focus on purpose, you can can focus on God. All are things that seem to get pushed to the back of the closet by the static of the modern world.
I’m sure there is a beautiful park near you. Go for a walk and take a silent minute to ask yourself what life would be like if you could discover the humility to simplify your life.
How much time do you spend alone, without noise, without technology? Take 5 minutes today and find a place of complete silence. Just listen. When was the last time you could just be?
Ask yourself, “do people see a humble spirit and simple life when they think about my life?”
Stillness is truly where we find God.
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