Echoes
Discipline is not the vital part of union. Developing habits of awareness is!
Brother Lawrence
Discipline weighs ounces;
regret weighs tons.
Source Unknown
We joined a gym. We were excited! It felt great to sweat, and we slept better, and even ate better.
But the drive is about twenty minutes. And after work, sometimes I just want to get home, right? (Actually, most of the time. Well, mostly all the time.)
We haven’t been in a month. We’re searching for a better reason to workout. We’re not disciplined. But wait! Could it simply be a discipline not suited to us?
Take prayer or meditation, for example. The bad news might seem: so many different ways to settle myself down, I’ll never find the right one. True, it can seem daunting. The good news is (you have my word on this) some concoction is right for each of us, and it will “pull our loose ends together,” “smooth off some of the rough edges,” give us a calmer place from which we can better cope.
So. Does your discipline actually work? If you have a way that works for you, keep it up. But if it doesn’t work (that is, settle you down inside, keep you a little more sane), try something else — something as simple as counting your breathing may do the trick. For now. Then, when your little raft has gotten you across the river, leave it, and go on your way until you need a new discipline.
Of course, sometimes you figure out that to get something you really, really want, you’re going to have to do something that is momentarily unpleasant. You do it anyway and, lo‑and‑behold, you get a little closer to that something. It works! You do it again; it works again! You’re throwing off some kind of old husk, and you’re feeling lighter!
That’s the only kind of discipline you want. Don’t let all those self-styled gurus talk you into doing stuff that doesn’t work for you, just because it makes you think (or makes you think they think) that somehow you’re better than someone else!
Think I'll repeat that little metaphor: a good discipline is like a raft to be left behind when you've crossed a river and won't be back.
Discipline is not the vital part of union. Developing habits of awareness is!
Brother Lawrence
Discipline weighs ounces;
regret weighs tons.
Source Unknown