When weary, read this

 

"You keep writing about hard-heartedness and sleepiness.
I think you are giving yourself too little rest.
When you are overtired, you should not force yourself,
you should not prod yourself into having a
particular feeling.
If you do not give your body rest and
during times of exhaustion force yourself to pray
or collect your thoughts,
or to seek a state of repentance in your heart,
you will never have peace of soul.
On the contrary, you will have confusion of thought and
heaviness of spirit.
St. Basil the Great says:
"If rest if harmful to a young a healthy body,
even more harm is brought to a
sick and weak body by overwork."
Do not be shy about giving yourself some respite and
more hours of rest in order to gain some hours or even
a few minutes of spiritual vitality,
a fresh outlook and clear thought.
Otherwise, one can fall into despondency.
The Lord wants to so little of us,
just a humble spirit,
while He gives us everything through His grace."
~from Letter # 83 of Abbess Arsenia in
Orthodox Life Vol 64: No. 2 March-April 2013