If you desire to discover peace and consolation for your soul and to serve God truly, do not find your satisfaction in what you have left behind, because in that which now concerns you you may be as impeded as you were before, or even more.
But leave as well all these other things and attend to one thing alone that brings all these with it (namely, holy solitude, together with prayer and spiritual and divine reading), and persevere there in forgetfulness of all things. For if these things are not incumbent on you, you will be more pleasing to God in knowing how to guard and perfect yourself than by gaining all other things together; what profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of one’s soul?
Saint John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love, 79
John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Carmelite Quotes 
“… namely, holy solitude, together with prayer and spiritual and divine reading…” – perfect for me at 05.30, beginning the day with your blog, as usual, when I should be saying my Rosary & Office! I will get on immediately. Father never fails, & this is my favourite of his works.