The ease, comfort and material wealth which so many people aspire to are often incompatible with true spiritual life. When you have all you need, and even sometimes more than you need, you make no effort, you let yourself go and, without knowing it, go against the intense life of the spirit within you. This is why if heaven subjects us to certain hardships it is not out of cruelty but to induce us to develop patience, strength of character and the need to go beyond ourselves.

Those who have no cares, who have everything to hand that they need, are obviously very content. But they let themselves go; they become lazy, and this laziness leads to an accumulation of useless matter within that decays and cannot be got rid of. They are no longer refreshed by the intense current which spiritual activity alone can keep alive in their organism. So, stop rebelling against the hardships destiny may impose on you. On the contrary, welcome them gratefully, for they provide the best conditions for learning how to feed the intense life of the spirit within you.