Athanasios Katigas: On the value of the soul

Once someone purchased an exotic bird and placed it in a beautiful cage with toys, beads, mirrors, swings, and even a bath. It chirped so beautifully that the whole neighborhood really enjoyed it. Its owner took care of it with much joy and cleaned the cage on a daily basis. One day, however, he was careless and left the little door open, and the bird flew away. When he saw the cage empty, he got very distressed and threw it in the storage room. Without the beautiful bird, its most elaborate cage was worthless. See what we do for the cage, our mortal body, whereas for our immortal soul we hardly do anything!
+Athanasios Katigas, from Tears of Repentance, true experiences in a Greek taxi cab, Chapter 1 Repentance, Confession & Holy Communion, On Being People Pleasers