This is a poem written by Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who died in 1968 . If all people would live like a serene disciple there will be no worries, anxieties, and depression. The real enemy is the EGO. I inserted my own commentary after every stanza of his poem:
WHEN IN THE SOUL OF A SERENE DISCIPLE
WITH NO MORE FATHERS TO IMITATE
POVERTY IS A SUCCESS
IT IS A SMALL THING TO SAY THE ROOF IS GONE
HE HAS NOT EVEN A HOUSE
A serene disciple does not worry at all. He possesses an inner peace that no one can take away. He doesn't care what people say. Not a people pleaser, which is a terrible disease- the disease to please or trying to be a "nice guy." He is naturally nice because he loves God and everything that God loves. But he does not live up to the expectations of people. Poverty or an absence of reputation is a great success. He does not fret when the roof is gone because he has not even a house. Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't own a house. Rather, there is no attachment to the things he owns.
STARS, AS WELL AS FRIENDS
ARE ANGRY AT THE NOBLE RUIN
SAINTS DEPART IN SEVERAL DIRECTIONS
It is a movement against the mainstream. Most people live in lower consciousness. That’s the reason they do not understand a serene disciple. The so-called saints won’t understand him either. The saints here are people of legalism like the Pharisees. That is the essence of what Jesus said you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
BE STILL:
THERE IS NO LONGER ANY NEED OF COMMENT
IT WAS A LUCKY WIND
THAT BLEW AWAY HIS HALO WITH HIS CARES
A LUCKY SEA THAT DROWNED HIS REPUTATION
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God (Psalms 46:10) There is no longer any need for comment. Be defenseless. The blowing away of halos and reputations are blessings in disguise, When everything is stripped away, what is left in you is God.
HERE YOU WILL FIND
NEITHER A PROVERB NOR A MEMORANDUM
THERE ARE NO WAYS,
NO METHODS TO ADMIRE
WHERE POVERTY IS NO ACHIEVEMENT
HIS GOD LIVES IN EMPTINESS LIKE AN AFFLICTION
A serene disciple is aware that there are rules but at the same time he understands that they are just rules or rituals. Jesus broke the Jewish rules by healing a sick person on Sabbath day. David broke the rule when he ate the bread in the temple. Who cares? God is bigger than rules. Merton said that God lives in emptiness like an affliction. In the lowest moment of our lives, that’s the time God is working in us. Most of God’s gifts are wrapped with tears and pains.
WHAT CHOICE REMAINS?
WELL, TO BE ORDINARY IS NOT A CHOICE
IT IS THE USUAL FREEDOM
OF MEN WITHOUT VISIONS
This sounds counterintuitive in our present society in which we are told to be the best, to be number 1,to be an A student, and be extra ordinary. But when you really come to think of it, the greatest people who ever walked on this planet like Jesus, Paul, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and others, they did not pursue greatness. It is only a by-product of their ordinariness.