Gleanings from Orthodox Christian Authors and the Holy Fathers

the_cell

A brother asked an old man, "What shall I do, father, for I am not acting at all like a monk, but I eat, drink, and sleep carelessly, and I have evil thoughts and I am in great trouble, passing from one work to another and from one thought to another?" The old man said, "Sit in your cell and do the little you can untroubled. For I think the little you can do now is of equal value to the great deeds which Abba Antony accomplished on the mountain, and I believe that by remaining sitting in your cell for the name of God, and guarding your conscience, you also will find the place where Abba Antony is." The Desert Fathers