According to Abba Isaac, we are to be a friend as were as a stranger to everyone. Express your opinion without imposing it. Listen to the others even when they sound boring or foolish. They, too, have their pain, their story to tell, and Christ has shed His Precious Blood for them as well. Abba Isaiah warns us not to compare ourselves with others; it is a dangerous game if you say you are better than another, you fall into pride. If you say you are worse, you fall into fatalism, inferiority, despair. Be vitally concerned with progress in your studies and your work, but also be aware that everyone -cobbler, a street cleaner – can be a hero and a saint. See to it that you are who you actually are, do not pretend to be good for it is a burdensome illness that leads to death. At the same time do not fall into cynicism where love is concerned. Do not hurry and do not delay. Be as gentle and polite with yourself as you are austere and demanding. Do not idle away your time and do not tire yourself with programmatic endeavors that cannot be sustained.
Weariness and loneliness can quickly destroy health. Be reconciled with God. Be reconciled with yourself. Be reconciled with others in your life, and no one will ever be able to take away the peace from your heart.
~Monk Moses of Athos
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