The soul as a garden

Someone just sent this to me in an email:

What is the spiritual battle? Well, the soul is a garden divided into two parts. On one half are planted thorny bushes, and on the other half flowers. We also have a water pump with two taps and two channels. The on guides the water to the thorns and the other to the flowers. I always have the choice to open one or the other tap. I leave the thorns without water and they dry up, I water the flowers and they blossom.
(Elder Porphyrios, Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit - The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece, p170)