The Secret of the Peace we need
Those who are engaged in spiritual warfare must always keep their hearts tranquil. Only then can the mind sift the impulses it receives and store in the treasure house of the memory those that are good and come from God, while rejecting altogether those that are perverse and devilish.
When the sea is calm, the fishermen’s eyes can see the movements of the fish deep down, so that hardly any of them can escape. But when the sea is ruffled by the wind, the turmoil of the waves hides from sight the creatures that would easily have been seen if the sea wore the smile of calm. The skill of the fisherman is of little use in rough weather.
Something of the same sort happens with the soul, especially when it is stirred to the depths by anger. At the beginning of a storm, oil is poured on the waters to calm them, and in fact the oil defeats their commotion. In this way, when the soul receives the anointing of the gift of the Holy Spirit, it gladly gives in to this inexpressible and untroubled sweetness. And even if it is continually attacked by temptation it maintains its peace and joy.
Diadochus of Photica Spiritual Works, 23 (SC5b, pp.27ff.)
It is Easy to Pass from Contemplation to Action but not Vice Versa
The one who, on the one hand, does not keep the commandments in the context of actual relationships with his neighbour and has even given up physical work and, on the other hand, remains alone in his room without even working spiritually, is lazy, lazy in both aspects.
The person who is used to spiritual activity does not find any difficulty in following the divine commandments also on the physical plane. Indeed, he finds it easier. The person who, instead, burns up all his energy in external activities, if he interrupts them, is not able to carry out internal activities. He is like someone who holds in his hands tools and materials to build something but does not know how to go about it. He cannot exercise the art and even less can he perfect it; he can do nothing that has any value.
For this reason all the Apostles and all those who have brought God into the world gave first place to solitude with respect to activity.
Simeon the New Theologian Theological and Ethical Treatises, 15, 95ff. (SCI29, p.45I)
~ Thomas Spidlik, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain, A Patristic Breviary: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World
