О рассеянной и внимательной жизни

The sons of the world recognize absent-mindedness as innocent, and the Holy Fathers recognize it as the beginning of all evil 409. A person devoted to absent-mindedness has a very light, very superficial understanding of all subjects, even the most important ones. An absent-minded person is usually fickle: his heartfelt sensations lack depth and strength, and therefore they are fragile and short-lived. Just as a moth flutters from flower to flower, so an absent-minded person moves from one earthly pleasure to another, from one vain care to another. An absent-minded person is alien to love for his neighbor: he looks indifferently at the misfortune of people, and easily places unbearable burdens on them. Sorrows have a strong effect on the absent-minded, precisely because he does not expect them. He expects only joys. If grief is strong, but fleeting, then the absent-minded will soon forget it in the noise of entertainment. Long-term grief crushes him. Absent-mindedness itself punishes those who are devoted to it: over time, everything becomes boring to him, and he, as someone who has not acquired any thorough knowledge or impressions, indulges in languid, endless despondency. Absent-mindedness, which is so harmful in general, is especially harmful in the work of God, in the work of salvation, which requires constant, intense vigilance and attention. “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune,” says the Savior to His disciples (Matthew 26:41). “I say to all: watch” (Mark 13:37), He proclaimed to all Christianity: therefore, to us today. He who leads a distracted life directly contradicts the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ with his life. All saints carefully avoided absent-mindedness. Continuously, or at least as often as possible, they concentrated within themselves, listening to the movements of the mind and heart, and directing them according to the will of the Gospel. The skill of listening to oneself protects against distraction and in the midst of noisy entertainment surrounding you on all sides. The attentive one remains in solitude, with himself, in the midst of crowds. Having experienced the benefits of attention and the harm of absent-mindedness, a certain great Father said: “Without intense vigilance over oneself, it is impossible to succeed in any virtue” 410. It is reckless to spend a short earthly life, given to us to prepare for eternity, in earthly pursuits alone, in satisfaction of petty, countless, unsatisfied whims and desires, windily running from one sensual pleasure to another, forgetting or rarely and superficially remembering the inevitable, majestic, and at the same time formidable eternity. The works of God - this is obvious - must be studied and considered with the greatest reverence and attention; Otherwise, a person can neither consider nor know them. The great work of God - the creation of man, and then, after his fall, renewal through redemption - should be known in detail to every Christian; without this knowledge he cannot know and fulfill the duties of a Christian. Knowledge of the great work of God cannot be acquired through absent-mindedness! The commandments of Christ are given not only to the outer man, but, most importantly, to the inner man: they embrace all the thoughts and feelings of a person, all his subtlest movements. It is impossible to keep these commandments without constant vigilance and deep attention. Vigilance and attention are impossible in a distracted life. Sin and the devil, who wields sin, subtly creep into the mind and heart. A person must be constantly on guard against his invisible enemies. How will he be on this watch when he is given over to absent-mindedness? He who is scattered is like a house without doors or shutters: no treasure can be stored in such a house; it is open to thieves, robbers and harlots. An absent-minded life, filled with the cares of life, makes a person fat, along with overeating and drinking heavily (Luke 21:34). Such a person is stuck to the earth, busy with only temporary and vain things; service to God is done for the scattered with a foreign object; the very thought of this service is wild for him, full of darkness, unbearably painful. An attentive life weakens the effect of bodily feelings on a person - it refines, strengthens, and shapes the effect of spiritual feelings. Absent-mindedness, on the contrary, lulls the action of mental feelings: it feeds on the continuous action of bodily feelings. The vainly absentminded attribute innocence to an absentminded life! By this they expose the malignancy of the disease that surrounds them. Their illness is so great, it dulls the feelings of the soul so much that the soul suffering from it does not even feel its distressed state. Those who want to learn attention must prohibit themselves from all empty activities. Fulfilling private and public duties is not part of absent-mindedness: absent-mindedness is always combined with idleness, or with such empty activities that can unmistakably be classified as idleness. A useful occupation, especially a service occupation associated with responsibility, does not prevent one from maintaining attention to oneself - it guides one to such attention. All the more important are monastic obediences when they are performed properly. Activity is a necessary path to vigilance over oneself, and this path is prescribed by the Holy Fathers for everyone who wants to learn to pay attention to themselves. Paying attention to yourself in deep solitude brings precious spiritual fruits; but only men of mature spiritual age are capable of it, having succeeded in the feat of piety, having first learned to pay attention in active life. During an active life, people help a person gain attention by reminding him of attention disorders. Subordination is the best way to get accustomed to attention: no one can teach a person to pay attention to himself as much as his strict and prudent boss. During your official activities, among people, do not allow yourself to kill time in idle talk and stupid jokes; When studying at your desk, forbid yourself from daydreaming: your conscience will soon sharpen and begin to point out to you any deviation into absent-mindedness as a violation of the Gospel Law, even as a violation of prudence. Amen. Alphabetical Patericon and Memorable Tales, about Pimen the Great, ch. 43. Alphabetical Patericon and Memorable Tales of Abba Agathon, ch. 39. 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