The relationship between calmness and depth: the
calm person, through his calmness, can reach the depths, if he
has a gift for contemplation. But it is not necessarily the case
that a calm person is deep.
It would be more correct for us to say that every deep person is
calm. Here I marvel at an expression given by one of the
spiritual men of letters, which I have probably repeated to you
on more than one occasion, which is: "When God cast me as a
pebble into the lake of life, I caused bubbles at its surface and
circles rippling out to infinity. But when I reached the bottom, I
became calm."
The waves are turbulent on the surface of the sea, just as the
depths of the sea, or the bottom of the ocean are calm, so too is
the person. When he is going through a unimportant period and
living a superficial and shallow life, he wants to cause ripples on
the surface of life with circles rippling outwards to infinity, but
when he reaches a more mature age and can think more deeply,
he becomes calm.
The shallow, superficial person is restless, he goes around trying
to 'find' himself, or trying to fulfil himself, whichever way he
can.
5.
At this point 1 would like to distinguish between
depth and intelligence, in relation to calmness.
Some intelligent people have an intelligence which is just
intellectual ability. Their spirits and hearts are not on the same
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level as their minds, so they do not reach the full depth that is
meant here, by this I mean depth of thought, heart, mind and
spirit. Not every intelligent person is deep. But the deep
person is intelligent. The intelligent person who lacks depth
may fall into errors that make him lose his calmness.
Therefore the intelligent person can comprehend that which
another cannot and as a result regards this other person as his
inferior, and piles blame and scorn upon him if he works with
him or under his command, thus losing his calmness in his
dealings with him. Sometimes, on account of his intelligence,
he detects many other people's mistakes and so becomes angry
with them or becomes annoyed within himself at their errors,
and in this way loses his peace from both inside and outside.
Intelligence, by itself, has troubles of its own if it is not
accompanied by meekness and humility.
If the mind is boisterous and thinks too highly of itself, it loses
its calmness. And if the mind is pompous and proud, it loses its
calmness and peace in its relationship with God and with
people. Whoever has been given intelligence by God must pray
that God will give him the meekness and humility of heart so
that intelligence does not degenerate into arrogance and mak
him lose his peace. tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/Calmness/index.html
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