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Quote of the Day: The Path to Freedom Is Discipline
“Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.” – Henri Nouwen
Discipline, especially in the 20th century, got a bad rap. The word seemed to remind people of rigid, prim people who always wanted to follow the rules, and who had no imagination. It was a way of life that some eschewed because they believed it limited their freedom and enjoyment of life.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Cambridge English Dictionary, however, provides further definition of what I believe Henri Nouwen, the renowned Catholic priest, meant: “The ability to control yourself or other people, even in difficult situations.”
I think that Nouwen was trying to tell us that for our lives to be satisfying, rewarding and to make a difference, we must set aside moments of rest and reflection. Those people who feel that they have to fill up every second of their lives have no peace; everything and everyone makes a demand on them. He is suggesting that we set aside times when we are not overwhelmed, and he calls to us to be present and not distracted as often as we might tend to be. Especially in our spiritual lives, we benefit from creating room for the unexpected, the holy, and for peace.
Our own discipline also empowers us to bring people together in orderly ways. Our very being sends the message to others that we have what it takes to organize, manage, inspire and lead.
All of these aspects of discipline will not happen on their own; life claims too much of our time. When we practice discipline, however, there are openings for the unexpected to show up, for creativity to arise, and for freedom to thrive.
Published in Culture
Another definition of discipline (from the personal perspective) is: “Doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you want to or not.”
I usually get something done by the time it needs to be done, but if I don’t want to do it, it’s last on my list. The quality of the “doneness” probably suffers as a result.
I know what you mean, @eb! It’s easy to put off things we don’t like to do!
“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” Winston Churchill.
Ah, discipline and persistence!! What a great combination! Thanks, @raxxalan.
I think that we also have to have the discipline to let go of things that get in the way of our being our best selves. Sometimes we want to indulge things that give us pleasure, to a degree that isn’t productive or healthy. Discipline allows us to live a life of balance.
Which is why losing weight is so hard . . .
So true! I rarely do diets, because I have a discipline about food that my own family, mostly overweight, doesn’t have. But I don’t know why I have that kind of discipline. I love food!! But I’ve always had to watch what I eat, because I can gain weight easily. Now if I could just come up with the “discipline formula,” I’d be rich!
The fastest way to lose weight is the no-carb diet, but it’s very unhealthy and isn’t a long term solution. The guy who told be about it was a competitive weightlifter, and used the diet to adjust his weight quickly to compete in different weight classes.
I’ve gone back to the one diet that worked for me long term. I try to limit breakfast and lunch to 300 calories each (although I cheat and go to 400 occasionally). Lunch is usually one can of soup. In addition, I cut out all bread except for pizza, which I don’t eat as much when dieting (this is tough during football season, the time when I cheat the most). As for dinner, that’s my big meal of the day. Oh, cut out dessert and sweets. Sugar is a killer in any diet.
Finally, cut back on the booze, especially high-calorie, sugary mixed drinks. But when you finally hit your target weight, make a pitcher of Margaritas and go crazy. Rewarding yourself is part of the fun. Heck, do it every time you hit an intermediate goal. Just don’t make the intermediate goal every time you lose one pound . . .
I especially like this quote because I’ve been listening to some of the interviews with doctors and nurses about the Wuhan virus crisis. Now I understand that they are human and need to vent but, really, isn’t working in an ER and other crisis medical situations all about discipline? I presume when these people are working they are disciplined but from some of the interviews you’d think they were all running around being hysterical through all this. I wonder if having more female doctors may bring more emotionalism into the situation. (Just as I wonder about more female military personnel and police officers.) Everyone wants the kind, caring doctor most of the time, but in a crisis you need the unemotional SOB who is going to get things done. On the flip side you have more male nurses who might not bring the nurturing care that is needed. As I said before, I’m sure a lot of this is venting and being egged on by the emotional media to be emotional.
I would add that (in general, of course!) females tend to follow the direction / orders of someone else. They make better workers in production lines, especially for fine motor control. And they tend not to be risk takers, and have IQ’s nearer the middle, rather than the extremes of men.
The doctors making a difference are those testing Hydroxycloroquine with an antibiotic (and especially zinc!) with their excellent preliminary results. Most are men, even though many younger doctors are now women. Our times need more calculated risks, based on a systems approach, rather than “if the patient’s blood O2 level is low, start a ventilator.”
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Since you are in the medical profession, you bring some very thoughtful ideas here, @colleenb. I’m especially fascinated by your suggestions of the effects that gender might have on being a doctor or nurse. I haven’t heard the comments from them, but I think this virus is making lots of people behave in ways they might not otherwise. Still, a level of discipline from the medical folk would be helpful, especially to those of us who feel most vulnerable. Thanks for weighing in.
Yes. Thank you. I should have said “in general”! Thanks.
Thank you for the upgrade but I am neither a doctor or nurse. Just a patient who remains grateful to all the health care workers and hospital cleaning crews.
He also said that Exodus 14:11 was the first recorded Jewish joke: “There are no tombs in Egypt so you took us to die in the desert?”
The context is well framed by this news story:
Death and burial were central to an Egyptian’s status and to its elite’s worldview. There were a lot of tombs.
The key features of Egypt for the fleeing Israelites were: sorcery, oppression, and enough to eat.
Robert E. Howard’s Egyptian flavored Stygia caught the atmosphere well.