A brother questioned Abba Motius, saying, “If I go to dwell somewhere, how do you want me to live?” The old man said, “If you live somewhere, do not seek to be known for anything special; do not say, for example, I do not go to the synaxis (common prayers); or perhaps, I do not eat at agape (a common meal after the Eucharist). For these things make an empty reputation and later you will be troubled because of this. For men rush where they find these practices.” The brother said to him, “What shall I do, then?” The old man said, “Wherever you live, follow the same manner of life as everyone else and if you see devout men whom you trust doing something, do the same and you will be at peace. For this is humility: to see yourself to be the same as the rest. When men see you do not go beyond the limits, they will consider you to be the same as everyone else and no one will trouble you.”
David Keller, Oasis of Wisdom, p. 148.
