Stillness alone engenders knowledge of God, for it is of the greatest help even to the weakest and to those most subject to the passions. It enables them to live without distraction and to withdraw from human society, from the cares and encounters that darken the intellect. I mean not simply worldly cares but also those that appear insignificant and sinless. As St John Klimakos says, ‘A small hair will irritate the eye.’ And St Isaac says, ‘Do not think that avarice consists simply in the possession of silver or gold; it is present whenever our thought is attached to something.’
~St Peter of Damakos
Prayerful Life 