Einstein once said something wonderful… Do not worry, it is not about physics or chemistry. “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them”. I believe this statement to be absolutely true. Your mistake now is precisely this: you try to solve your problem only with your thoughts. But look, your own thoughts have brought you into this condition, your thoughts have led you to the destruction of yourself.
You would say: “What should I do? The thoughts I have are only my own, not someone else’s”. However, there is another thought. There is someone else’s mind besides yours: the Mind of Christ. You can do what the Apostle Paul said, “Acquire the Thought and the Mind of Christ”. This refers to another condition. In other words, you ask Christ to enter His atmosphere. This may be achieved in a few hours, in a few days, and even right now if Christ wants to perform a miracle. Right this very minute. Say, “O Christ, give me Your mind”. “We have the mind of Christ”, said the Apostle Paul. One should regard the events that happen around us the same way Christ would regard them: without excessive attachment. Identifying yourself with a problem leads to the loss of hope. Some people have lived with the Mind of Christ. They have succeeded. They have managed to live through deaths, many disappointments, dramatic stories, countless diseases, and various life miseries.
Just imagine: you have lost a child, some vital organ of your body, health or anything you can think of. How would you bear it all? However, people have suffered worse. Their secret was that they had acquired the mind of Christ. It is not easy. I am sorry that in difficult moments of your life I am giving you harsh advice acting like a know-it-all.
It is not my purpose. I have gone through difficulties before, the pain from which makes me immobile. Yet now when writing this, speaking to you like during a confession, I am in a good condition, thus I can give you some advice. Indeed if I felt any pain, I would not be able to speak like this. I would not even want to hear anything. Even think. I would be completely immersed in my misfortune.
Reading these lines, you can do something too. After all, you have put up with it for so long listening to me despite your problems and the fact that you are losing hope and you want to cry, we are spending time together now. It is a very good step. It is essential to let someone touch you and open up. Open your mind, open your soul and say, “Maybe, some day, some time, at some point, maybe, right now I will look at my life differently. If I do so, then I will smile, since having looked differently I will say, “Problems may be solved, they really pass. These will too. I must continue to live making efforts”.
From the book “On Certain Difficulties in Marriage” by Father Andrew (Konanos)
Translated by Julia Frolova.
