Brother Franco, headmaster of Pizzaonian Monasteries, was sharing with me some thoughts on how difficult it is for both novice monks and their older brothers and sisters to bring profound change to their lives.
Here is a brief excerpt of his thoughts on the difficulty of bringing insightful change to our core being.
Brother Giovanni
We live our lives following a habit pattern we are seldom aware of. We continue to tinker with our schedules and our motivations, but the foundation that it all rests on stays the same. Many surface things in our personalities change often, but at our core, at the very foundation of our being, change there does not come easily, or often.
Who we are and how we have learned to protect ourselves from ourselves, and everyone else is where the hardest stone of our foundation rests, and why things seldom change. The reason we seldom change is because we don’t want to change. Simply said, change at this level would transform our lives dramatically and turn our comfort zones upside down.
We occasionally get glimpses of the person we could be if we were willing to change ourselves at this core level. It may be inspiring for a moment, but when the realization of what it would mean to become the real you hits home, it usually takes us quickly back to our comfort zone.
So the next time you lament to yourself, why don’t things ever really change, find a mirror and ask the person looking back at you. That person knows the answer to your question if you dare listen.
Brother Franco
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