In our life, reality often does not coincide with our desires. You can react to this in different ways.

You can simply accept reality as an indisputable fact, and align your desires withit.

You can brazen out and try to change reality.

Or you can pretend that there is no reality, inspire yourself and others with the illusion that it doesn't exist and live in this invented virtual space.

In the first two cases, harmony is achieved through deprivation. In the first – through humbling, in the second — through activity. But the result will worth it.

The third case, at first glance, is the most comfortable. But this is only at the beginning. After all, sooner or later, no matter how you hide from reality, it will still manifest itself. And then a person will face a bitter disappointment.

So it won’t be possible to escape from suffering in this life. That’s why the Church teaches its children to be realistic in their attitude to the world, to life. Not to build illusions, not to hide from problems.

This is important both in ordinary human activity and in spiritual life. As the Savior says in the Gospel of Matthew:«And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force» (11:12).

That is why it’s so important for all of us not to deceive ourselves, but to live with the truth, humbly accept reality and with God's help change it for the better.