Archimandrite Andrew: And peace of mind, and the fear passed from person to person Bashny.Net

If we think that includes the concept of fear, we see here a lot about feelings, and understand: there is no fear of reasons. Human life is conceived by God as peaceful and joyful. We should live happily ever after – why not? God gave us this life that we have lived on earth with pleasure and gratitude to Him for this gift. And this gratitude (or thanksgiving, Eucharist), in turn, opened us the way to Him.

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Archimandrite Andrew (Konnos)

Sometimes, leaving the guests, I may inadvertently forget some thing, like a pen or glasses. And the owner of the house where I was staying, after some time I see a forgotten thing and says, "Oh, it left father Andrew!"That is, to see my glasses, he thought of me, his thoughts rushing in my direction.

Why do we give gifts? To the person looking for a gift, remembered who he was recently together, love this man. And if our present is starting to be another person, not the one for whom it was intended, then the gift is meaningless. After all, we gave it to we have a connection with that person – a connection full of warmth and love – and not just for regular use.

That is what God is. He sends us in this beautiful world (which, however, we then transform into something completely different) – sends us here because we enjoyed His gifts, His mercy to us, that we may live in this world as calmly as children live in the house of his Father – without worries and sorrows ("We have a Pope!"). After all, when the child has a tender, loving father, he is not afraid of anything.

So does God with us. To do this, He allowed us to live in this world.

Once one transfer was made by a very good doctor. He said that the human body is designed in such a way that we can live much longer if you keep the correct way of life.

Of course, such a life involves proper nutrition. But not only that.It is important to be mentally balanced person, calm and peaceful. If we were all like that, you would have lived longer.

You age because of worries about their problems, stress, anxiety, insecurity. All this leads to the fact that his hair begin to turn gray in early youth, without any apparent reason, just from experience. Stress causes sickness of the stomach – such as ulcer.

For the same disease there is another, and so on. How many diseases cause spiritual experiences! Therefore, if we really want to enjoy life and live many years, we should discover the ways that lead to longevity.

One of such ways is life without fear. Life without anxiety, without the pain that is eating away at our soul from the inside.

Somehow in the same house I saw some old photos. They were shown older couples – old men and women. Saw you ever such a black-and-white photos with their grandparents? Grandmother in kerchief, grandpa with a mustache in a suit standing and looking at the camera with a simple, innocent eyes, gaze coming from her very soul.

Their faces are wrinkled, they look tired, aged from hard work on the field, many children, from constant worries. But on those photos I noticed something else. These men were calloused from the hard work on the ground, women's faces have aged from frequent childbearing (and in those days the family was from 5 to 10 or more children), but they were calm, peaceful look. Their eyes radiated grace.

Tired but relaxed, these people don't know what the lifting, facial masks, Spa treatments... they Washed ordinary soap, and not every day – and their bodies smelled, not then, and the earth, i.e., natural flavor of real life. Their purity was another. The other was their beauty, their peace, and this was reflected on their faces.

These people slept a little, but the short sleep had fed them. They were not nightmares, they were not in a dream of bed. They fell asleep instantly, they didn't need no sleeping pills, no special pills, sedatives or conversely, energizing teas – anything we use today.

Honest day's labor, a clear conscience, physical fatigue – these people sleep like birds – a little, but firmly, resting really, freezing soul. And they woke up with a thirst for life. They had their difficulties, but they had a secret that helped them to live happily, and in the first place – without fear.

This secret they handed down from generation to generation, and thus the light appears healthy children, who loved life, wanted to create a family, worked and sailed on the sea of life without fear and anxiety. That thirst for life they absorbed with their mother's milk. What happened? What was the secret of these people?

Just in my life they were guided not by himself but by God. These old men were living in "leaven" to God and the Church. They didn't know much of what we know,but they had living faith. They had no TV shows, no conferences, no journals, no magazines; they have never read the Philokalia or other works of the Holy fathers, but their whole life was a continuous love of the beautiful.

Without leaving them their village, they lived the lives of the fathers, in which we read of the ascetics and podwojnych who worked in the desert. In the morning, opening the window, they saw their neighbors and rejoicing; looking at each other, they learned patience, hope, determination, prayer, humility, love, repentance and forgiveness – all things that now we are taking from the books.

Today we don't see all this around you. With us there is no people living without worry and anxiety, people who could share the calm state of his soul. The spiritual world of which we read in books did not seem to exist; he is depicted on icons described in the stories, but that's not enough to quench your spiritual thirst.

If a person wants to drink, and it shows a beautiful photo of the waterfall, he will not stop wanting to drink. Looking at the picture, he will see that somewhere there is water that anyone can drink, but he can't! And continues to thirsty. Here's the thing. We read, listen, but not feel. We do not have peace because with us there is no cool people.

Did you know that it is very contagious – and peace of mind, and fear? They are passed from person to person. Never heard some people say: "do Not do so-and-so, because your concern is passed to me. I have also become a panic, and what will happen if we both start to get nervous?»

Now, these elderly people did not have such disturbances and riots.

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A friend of mine, a priest, came to Greece from Scotland, from Edinburgh. Where people are more relaxed, they have a different rhythm of life, different mentality, different culture... And it's not because of faith in God, but just there's a relaxed pace of life. Naturally, it influenced the economy of this country and its politics, and history... So, my friend came home and went by bus to Athens. And on returning from the city, he called me and said:

– Oh, my poor head! How she ached in Athens! Here for life? What kind of madhouse? How can you stand all this? Crush, wild, twisted faces – it seems as though people are constantly chasing after something, and why, and do not know! How can you live? I looked at the face and saw neither one of quiet, peaceful... All kind of crazy. Something's not right. In Edinburgh other people. Of course, they are not the people we would like them to see the Lord and the Church, but at least they are not as restless. And we, the Greeks, and Mediterranean people. We are filled with the sun, and because we are extroverted, dynamic... But one thing – the dynamism, and the other is mental anxiety.

Fotis Kontoglou in his book "Blessed refuge" says about our "time of troubles", "When I meet a person who is calm and does not abide in the excitement, stopping to cross himself and glorified God, saying, "Finally, I met a gentle man! Everyone running somewhere in a hurry, and no one is happy, not enjoying life. We are all chasing after something, but before he could enjoy their achievements, again running after something new"".

This concern is the result of our selfishness. We want to do everything yourself. We believe that man is the master of his life. But if you really start to consider themselves as such, it is true that you can fall into terrible anxiety and excitement. How not to worry if everything depends on you! Especially when it comes to your children.

But anxiety about children will disappear if we learn to say these words: "God brought me into this life and gave me children. He used me to give life to them, He brought them into existence through my body, with my participation, but He does not need me to do for them everything. I have to make for them a possible and the impossible I will trust God and not be worried because of his impotence. I trust in God and trust Him with their children. And then calm down".

This is the right attitude to life. And we take everything upon ourselves and I think that it depends on us, our child's life (or, for example, our career). We want to control everything, and as a result we reach moral exhaustion: comes the fatigue, the forces leave us, we drop everything, then go crazy.

Unless we are able to keep everything in mind and think about everything? No, not. Need God to give the opportunity to do something. Entrust their children to His care. Of course, we must also make efforts, but with prayer. With prayer, love and affection, not with fear – in fact, constantly worrying, you are not helping their children. On the contrary: it conveys your fear.

For example, a child misbehaves and the mother, suffering from it, too, starts acting "bad" news. And even if, while in this state, she'll want to cuddle your child, then the child will not feel this affection. He will feel motherly fear – and this is the worst legacy that can only refer the mother to your child. Conversely, no wealth, no property or Bank account do not replace the most beautiful gift from their parents – peace of mind.

No money in the Bank? Don't worry, don't worry. "But what will I leave my child?"And that at the time you left? How did you build your house? Of course, it is impossible to leave the child in complete poverty, so some kind of inheritance should be.

But the real wealth that you can actually provide it with life – this wealth of simplicity. The true treasure is simplicity: simple soul, simple thoughts, simple life, simple behavior. Let your child learn from you not to be afraid and to live peacefully and quietly. And then someday he'll say, "My parents were cool people. They trusted God and therefore never felt a sense of fear." If we all left this world, was able to leave that memory!

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How wonderful to trust God! Are you saying that you can not. Try! It is a great blessing. Says St. Gregory the Theologian, "the greatest thing – is nothing." Sometimes you can hear such words: "You are in a Church doing nothing." Well, try to do what the Church says, that is not to do anything? If you can, doing nothing, to stay calm?

Try, and you will understand how difficult it is. Because actually in this case you are not idle. On the contrary, you are making a lot of effort in order to learn to trust God. This is a great art to doing nothing, to trust all to the Lord.

In Paterikon is a story about a nun. Once asked her how many years she stayed in her cell.

Thirty years, ' she replied.

– What are you doing here, sitting in one place? asked her again.

– I'm not sitting, and are in a continuous journey. That is mean I do sit in one place, but this life, which may seem very calm, careless and even indifferent, actually is very mobile. Because I pray.

So when I say not to worry, it does not mean that we don't have to do anything. On the contrary: we must do everything. It's all surrender to the will of God. "Ourselves and the whole belly our God betray."

This litany familiar to all of us petition, which is on the Liturgy, said: we have betrayed ourselves, our loved ones and our lives with all the problems, expenses, diseases, marriages, purchases, children, property – everything – in God's hands. Therefore, the name Christ is God and is here in the dative case: to Christ God.

Trust Christ, Who is our God. Trust Him in all things. Into Thy hands, o Lord, I commend my spirit. The word betray means that we fully trust the Lord and leave all at His feet, His hands and arms.

And when you trust God, you immediately feel like everything inside of you relaxes. You saw the sleeping child in her mother's arms? He falls asleep, and after a few minutes it hangs the handle, legs also, in his body there's no pressure, he is completely relaxed. His whole body relaxed. Why? Because he is in the arms. In the arms of mom or dad – they got him, and he's asleep. The child completely trusts the parents. In their arms he calms down and says, "I Have dad, I have a mom. As soon as I Wake up, they'll give me something to eat."

Did any of you child in trouble or anxiety? If even these children they come across, looking at them, I think: "this child something!"Can you imagine a normal child who wakes up in the morning and says, "What will happen to me today? I get to eat today? It's so hard! I'm scared, I'm scared of tomorrow. If I get dirty, who'll change me? And if you get hungry, who will feed me?"Children fully trust their parents and rely entirely on them.

Both the Lord and the Church call us to want to do so consciously, voluntarily and deliberately. To take such a decision, we believed and did it.

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To surrender to God, trust Him with your life, all your problems is to trust all. And not to just anyone, but the God-man, Christ, Who can take care of (and cares) about everything. Lord, You gave us everything and did everything for us, as they say in the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. And You will never leave us without His help. At the last moment, when the situation seems hopeless, You will do everything for us. "I have remembered days of old, pochalla Your deeds," says the Psalter (PS. 142:5). "Rather hear me, o Lord!» (Fp. 142:7).

 



Simion Athos: The poor man is the one who most loves money

Man needs a little

 

Remember how many times the Lord has saved you many times defended and offered you the best solution to the problem! And remembering this, can you finally calm down and say, "I am a child of God. I feel God's love. Calm! God showed me that He loves and protects me. Let out all my fears, my insecurity and emotional anxiety that haunt me!»published 

 

Archimandrite Andrew (Konnos)

 

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

Source: www.pravmir.ru/zhizn-bez-straha/