Appetite for easiness, an
Dulls our vigilance
October 9th 2019
Everyone knows how important it is to pay attention, but attention has many facets. The best-known facet is the sustained application that is required to do our work properly, to understand what we are told, to study, and so on. But there is also another form of attention called self-observation. It entails becoming aware of what is happening inside of us at every moment of the day, of discerning the currents, the desires, the thoughts that pass through us, the influences, and the tension that we feel. It is this attention that is not sufficiently developed.
If you happen to be visited by thoughts and feelings that rob you of your courage, your confidence or your joy, it is because you are not attentive, not vigilant. And it is this appetite for easiness and for pleasures that dulls your vigilance. Indeed, how can one be vigilant when one only wants to indulge in what is easy and pleasant? It is like a dampness that settles on the wings of the soul and prevents it from flying. And when your soul can no longer fly, any dark entity from the invisible world can seize hold of it and take away your peace, your joy and your hope.