Giving Oneself Completely To God Through Ascetic Life. Poem by Genova Maaa my mother

St. John of the Cross writes:
„Strive always to choose not that which is easier, but that which is most difficult; not that which is most delectable, but that which is most unpleasing; Not that which gives most pleasure, but that which gives least; Not that which is restful, but that which is wearisome; Not that which gives consolation, but rather that which makes disconsolate; Not that which is greatest, but that which is least; Not that which is loftiest, and most precious, but that which is lowest and most despised, Not that which is a desire for anything, but that which is a desire for nothing; Strive not to go about seeking the best of temporal things, but the worst… Strive thus to desire to enter into complete detachment and emptiness and poverty, with respect to that which is in the world, for Christ's sake". (John of the Cross, The complete works of St. John of the Cross, translated and edited by E. Allison Peers, I, Westminister, Md.: The Newman Bookshop,1946; P.61) .