`Geronda, my mind is telling me that I get tired easily and it is not because of my lack of resistance but because of another reason.`
`If there were divine fire inside you the things would have been different.`
`Geronda, how will I acquire this divine fire?`
`Forgetting about yourself and thinking about the others.`
`It seems hard to me to do this thing all the time.`
`At least try to think about the others and take care of them as you think and take care about yourself. Then slowly you will become uninterested by your own person in the good meaning and you will think about the others all the time. Then of course God will think about you and the other ones as well. But don`t do this in the hope of making the others think about you…`
`So, geronda, what torments me is my own self.`
`Yes, my child, get rid of your self. If you throw it away then you will fly. Why to keep yourself for yourself? The part of love you keep for yourself you take it from the broad love you must have for the others.`
`Geronda, how to get rid of my own self?`
`As much as you can take yourself out from your actions and put the others inside you. Try to give to the others the thing you want it for yourself. Give and give without cease without taking yourself into account. The more you give, the more you receive, as God will give you a plenty of His Grace and Love. He will love you a lot as you will love Him a lot too because you will stop loving your own self which asks you to feed yourself from selfishness and pride and not from the Grace of God which gives to the soul all the vitamins and brings in the body the divine change making the man shine. I will pray so that you may feel all these soon to get rid of the torment of loving your own self.
`Geronda, can I struggle to get rid of the love for my own self, but in the same time to have my own self present in everything I do?`
`How to struggle ? Do you throw away your own self ? Everyone throws what it is disgusting. You must understand this is disgusting. If you don`t get disgusted by that thing you don`t throw it. I want to say that for throwing away your old self you must get disgusted of it. You can`t walk further with rigid legs.`
Excerpt from Passions and virtues – Pious Paisios the Athonite. Evanghelismos.
