All our life is sown with tiny thorns that produce in our hearts a thousand
involuntary moments of hatred, envy, fear, impatience, a thousand little
fleeting disappointments, a thousand slight worries, a thousand disturbances
that momentarily alter our peace of soul. For example, a word escapes that
should not have been spoken. Or someone says something that offends us. A child
inconveniences you. A bore stops you. You don't like the weather. Your work is
not going according to plan. A piece of furniture is broken. A dress is
torn.
I know that these are not occasions for practicing very heroic virtue. But
they would definitely be enough to acquire it if we really wished to.
~ St. Claude la Columbiere (1641-82), a Jesuit preacher
