“Just as
wood causes a fire to flare up, and if we do not throw enough of it on
the fire, it goes out, so also does it happen with the passions; that
is, there are certain causes, which – if cut off – no longer activate
the passions. For example, the causes of anger are: giving and taking;
wanting to do one’s own will; taking delight in teaching and showing off
to other people; and thinking oneself to be intelligent and wise. If
one cuts off these causes, the passion of anger is weakened.”
wood causes a fire to flare up, and if we do not throw enough of it on
the fire, it goes out, so also does it happen with the passions; that
is, there are certain causes, which – if cut off – no longer activate
the passions. For example, the causes of anger are: giving and taking;
wanting to do one’s own will; taking delight in teaching and showing off
to other people; and thinking oneself to be intelligent and wise. If
one cuts off these causes, the passion of anger is weakened.”
-Blessed Abba Sergios
Praying With My Feet 
Food for thought, especially with Lent approaching. That part about “giving and taking; wanting to do one's own will” sounds like the toddler years. Aside from that fight in my own llife, I wonder if that is why parenting during that stage is so draining, that we are seeing and co-fighting an externalized battle against the passions.
The flower picture is gorgeous! Did you take that?
(another) Elizabeth
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Yes, I took that last year (it's from the same album as the azalea on the previous post). Those camellias are in bloom again though. A picture of fire would have been more appropriate but I don't have one!
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