Spiritual life
A constant effort
June 18th 2015
Even the most talented beings in the world cannot achieve anything without practising several hours every day, and often from childhood, to develop their talents. Work is the only thing that can achieve results. And this is even truer in the spiritual life than in other areas. Why? Because the spiritual life cannot be treated as separate from the whole of existence. The spiritual life involves our entire being, at every moment of the day.
Let’s consider the case of musicians: even if they are geniuses, music does not occupy all their time, and they can express their gifts while at the same time indulging their bad habits and leading a chaotic life. The same goes for writers, painters and so on. It is much easier to cultivate a talent, whatever it is, than to overcome our weaknesses and our psychological or moral shortcomings. That requires continuous effort, night and day, and it is why there are not so many candidates for the spiritual life.