Wandering Thoughts

Wandering thoughts come down to this. It is like a female donkey with a nursing colt. As long as she is tied up her foal will return to her no matter how far off it wanders. But if its mother is also turned loose, then both animals will wander off to their destruction.

If a body remains in its cell then the mind's wanderings will eventually return to reality. But if the body as well as the soul go gamboling about, then both will fall prey to something other than the presence of God.

- Paradise of the Desert Fathers