Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
-- 1 Peter 5:8-10 (ESV)
John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statues:
The devil does not come openly, saying, "I am the devil, and I have come to wage war against you." He does not declare himself. He presents himself under the appearance of a friend. And if he spoke openly, no one would be deceived. It is precisely because he ambushes in secret that he is dangerous. For this reason the apostle says, "Be sober-minded; be watchful." He who watches does not fall asleep. And he who is sober is not carried away by vain pleasure.
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters:
The safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. It is not the great sins that damn most men. It is the small, persistent ones that erode the will until nothing remains.
Abba Moses of the Desert, from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers:
A brother asked Abba Moses, "How should a monk conduct himself?" The old man said to him, "Sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything. Keep your mouth shut. Guard your thoughts. Do not judge your brother. Pray without ceasing. Those who wish to dwell in the desert are delivered from three battles: hearing, speech, and sight. They need only to fight against the heart." This was the wisdom of men who understood that vigilance begins within, not without.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ:
Unless a man be disengaged from all earthly affections, he cannot easily recollect himself in prayer. What is it but a perverse desire and a restless conscience that draw a man so often into weariness and distraction? A man truly humble and disciplined fears nothing so much as his own passions. He who would advance in the spiritual life must keep a strict watch over himself, especially in those matters which he finds most agreeable to his nature. For it is here that the enemy plants his deepest snares.
Where have you traded watchfulness for comfort -- and what has already slipped in through the door you stopped guarding?
Epictetus, Discourses:
It is not the things themselves that trouble men, but their judgments about things. Death, for example, is nothing terrible--otherwise it would have appeared so to Socrates. But the judgment about death, that it is terrible--this is the terrible thing. When therefore we are impeded, disturbed, or grieved, let us never blame another, but ourselves--that is, our own judgments. The wise man is one who watches his own mind, who sees where impressions come from, and refuses entry to those that would enslave him.
St. Clair, MI: -- Sunny, 73°F. Humidity 89%. NE wind at 7 mph. Sunrise 5:55 AM / Sunset 9:13 PM. A clear day with heavy morning moisture burning off by mid-morning. Long light -- use it.