Not Square, but Round

Reading from Tuesday, August 18, 2015 yoga class

What follows I found in the Open Sky Yoga Newsletter by Francois Raoult

"A brother asked Abba Matoes: What shall I do?  My tongue causes me trouble and whenever I am among people, I cannot control it and I condemn them in all their good deeds and contradict them. What, therefore, shall I do?  The old man answered him: if you cannot control yourself, go away from people and live alone.  For this is a weakness--those who live together with others ought not to be square but round, in order to turn toward all.  Further, the old man said: I live alone not because of my virtue, but rather because of my weakness.  You see, those who live among people are the strong ones.


Some old men came to see Abba Poemen, and said to him: Tell us, when we see brothers dozing during the sacred office, should we pinch them so they will stay awake?  The old man said to them: actually, if I saw a brother sleeping, I would put his head on my knees and let him rest."