This is the generation of them that seek the Lord

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶15. Let him be your father who is able and willing to labour with you in bearing the burden of your sins; and your mother—contrition, which can cleanse you from impurity; and your brother—your comrade who toils and fights side-by-side with you in your striving toward the heights. Acquire an inseparable wife—the remembrance of death. And let your beloved children be the sighs of your heart. Make your body your slave; and your friends, the holy powers (angels) who can help you at the hour of your death, if they become your friends. This is the generation of them that seek the Lord.

Exile is not from hatred

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶14. It is not from hatred that we separate ourselves from our own people or places (God forbid!), but to avoid the harm which might come to us from them. In this, as in everything else, it is Christ who teaches us what is good for us. For it is clear that He often left His parents according to the flesh. And when He was told, 'Thy Mother and Thy brethren are seeking for Thee,' our good Lord and Master at once showed us an example of dispassionate hatred when He said, 'My mother and My brethren are they who do the will of My Father who is in Heaven.'

An exile conceals his knowledge

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶13. He is an exile who, having knowledge, sits like one of foreign speech amongst people of another tongue.

Run from places of sin as from the plague

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶9. Run from places of sin as from the plague. For when fruit is not present, we have no frequent desire to eat it.

The monk is a willing exile from his home

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶8. Eve was exiled from Paradise against her will, but the monk is a willing exile from his home. She would have liked the tree of disobedience again; and he would certainly expose himself daily to frequent danger from relatives according to the flesh.

Do not touch the world any more

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶7. Have you become an exile from the world? Do not touch the world any more; because the passions desire nothing better than to return.

We must most certainly teach ourselves

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶4. In hastening to solitude and exile, do not wait for world-loving souls, because the thief comes unexpectedly. In trying to save the careless and indolent along with themselves, many perish with them, because in course of time the soul's fire goes out. As soon as the flame is burning within you, run; for you do not know when it will go out and leave you in darkness. Not all of us are required to save others. The divine Apostle says: 'Everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.' And again he says: 'Thou therefore that teachest another, dost thou not teach thyself?' This is like saying: I do not know whether we must all teach others; but we must most certainly teach ourselves.