Chapter 5
The dialogue traces a shift from fighting external demons to embracing a far more difficult internal surrender: the art of losing to the Divine.
“One day, I asked Father Makarios, “Do you still wrestle with the devil?”
Father Makarios said, “No. I used to wrestle with the devil all the time. But now I have grown old and tired, and the devil has grown old and tired with me. So I leave him alone and he leaves me alone.”
I asked, “Then life is easy now?”
Father Makarios responded, “Oh, no. Life is much harder now. For now I wrestle with God.”
I exclaimed, “You wrestle with God and hope to win?”
“No,” said Father Makarios, “I wrestle with God and hope to lose.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) Report to Greco
Have a good start with this thought!
Philemon