Troubling Thoughts

Ἀδελφός τις ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Ποιμένα, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, πολλοὺς λογισμοὺς ἔχω, καὶ κινδυνεύω ἀπ' αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἐκφέρει αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἄπλωσον τὸν κόλπον σου, καὶ κράτησον τοὺς ἀνέμους. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐ δύναμαι τοῦτο ποιῆσαι. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ τοῦτο οὐ δύνασαι ποῆσαι, οὐδὲ τοὺς λογισμοὺς δύνασαι κωλῦσαι ἐλθεῖν· ἀλλὰ σόν ἐστι τὸ ἀντιστῆναι αὐτοῖς. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.329a

A brother came to Father Poemen and said to him, 'Father, I have many thoughts that trouble me.' The elder took him outside and said to him, 'Expand your chest and catch the winds.' And he said, 'I cannot do that.' The elder said to him, 'If you cannot do that, nor shall you be able to stifle thoughts, but it is for you to stand against them.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia