Written May 31, 2018
by Kristin Elaine Wilson
As I wake for each day I am reminded of the discipline it takes for me to be my best self each and every day. I run in the mornings. I say good morning to the birds and I listen to what they have to say to me. I have my tea. I make my food and tea and water to take with me for the day. Then I go to work at Child Protective Services where I hear the word discipline used in a very different way.
When I googled the definition of discipline this is what came up in large print which took up the entire screen so that the other websites with other definitions could not be seen:
Discipline - the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
This is definitely how the word discipline is used in my work place, and this definition does not fit my personal use of the word. So I looked to the Merriam-Webster dictionary which offered multiple definitions including the following:
Discipline - training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
as well as
a : control gained by enforcing obedience or order
b : orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior
c : self-control
And there are more.
If we don't use our own critical thought, healthy discernment, and self discipline in our everyday life then we will be apt to fall in line with the discipline that seeks to control us and "keep us in line" toward a future we do not want.
*Critical thought and Self Discipline that gives space for freedom, creativity and divinity... this I say yes to!
What form of discipline is needed for you to be your best self each day? What disciplines open the way for you to have more freedom and creativity in your life? What self discipline practices support you to be your most divine self?
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