By St. Paisios the Athonite
Man runs as long as he lives to find Christ, and never stops. Running he does not feel fatigue, but joy.
To make it clear, I will give you one example: a good hound, smelling a hare, does not stand near the hunter, but takes off, runs and looks for the hare. It runs, then stops for a while, sniffs the air, runs again. It cannot stand still. Its mind is busy with how to find the hare. It doesn't look around. For the hound, there is more joy in running than in standing still. Life for the hound is about running and searching.
This is the kind of sobriety we need to have. Our mind must constantly strive towards Christ, because He is our goal. And we, although we have taken the trail, although we know the road, we know where to go in order to meet Christ, we often stand still, we do not move forward. If we did not know the way, then our standing still would be justified.
To make it clear, I will give you one example: a good hound, smelling a hare, does not stand near the hunter, but takes off, runs and looks for the hare. It runs, then stops for a while, sniffs the air, runs again. It cannot stand still. Its mind is busy with how to find the hare. It doesn't look around. For the hound, there is more joy in running than in standing still. Life for the hound is about running and searching.
This is the kind of sobriety we need to have. Our mind must constantly strive towards Christ, because He is our goal. And we, although we have taken the trail, although we know the road, we know where to go in order to meet Christ, we often stand still, we do not move forward. If we did not know the way, then our standing still would be justified.
