keep thy mind calm and even

"Keep thy mind calm and even (Mark 10:49), and prepare thyself for bearing still more. All is not lost if thou feel thyself often afflicted, or grievously tempted. Thou art man and not a god; thou art flesh, and not an angel. How canst thou think to continue ever in the same state of virtue, when this was not found in the angels of heaven, nor in the first man in paradise? I am He who raise up and saves those who mourn; and those who know their own infirmity I advance to My divinity."

- from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

the energy of loneliness

"But I believe that loneliness is something essential to human nature; it can only be covered over, it can never actually go away. Loneliness is part of being human, because there is nothing in existence that can completely fulfill the needs of the human heart...Loneliness is the fundamental force that urges mystics to a deeper union with God. For such people, loneliness has become intolerable but, instead of slipping into apathy or anger, they use the energy of loneliness to seek God. It pushes them towards the absolute."

- Jean Vanier, Becoming Human