SELF-DISCIPLINE...YOU GOTTA LOVE IT

Follow Him in this direction, and you might become wise and even holy. But be prepared to displease those on either entrenched side.

I came across that quote in my notes this morning, and I regret I didn't note the author. I suspect it is a truth we've all heard...experienced, too, no doubt. I know I have. The hard lesson learning is those who are displeased with us, who resist our new thinking, feeling, doing, being, are our angels. 

Our new thinking tells us is to let them...let them be displeased. The how-to is the rest of our life learning. It all starts with self-discipline...but then doesn't everything? A good starting place for self-discipline is learning the art and the necessity of becoming transparent (open) as opposed to remaining opaque (closed).

To be transparent is to let any and all slings and jabs, attacks and enmity come...for those are the necessary tools (our emery board) that we need in order to turn our ego-victory thinking around, to smooth our mean mental responses and stay our sharp tongue. We let them come so that we can learn how to let them pass on through...without hooks.

In remaining opaque we are our own Velcro...attaching to those "mean-ingless" words as if they were words of love. We replay them constantly because we are stuck with them, Velcro’d so to speak.  And feeling oh so sorry for our poor, pitiful misunderstood selves. Then highly peeved at the injustice of it all. Pretty soon we're encased in rigid, righteous and right, self-determined that somebody is going to pay (having not a clue that it is us, our own selves, who are going to pay and dearly).

Here comes self-discipline riding in to save the day! (Self-discipline is God's white horse.) It reminds us that we have ceased fighting everything and everybody...because we have come to believe that every time we are upset, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. 

We remember we need to quit looking out there...the something wrong is not out there. It is within. It is right then, at that moment of remembering that we are graced with acceptance of the fact that it is not them, it is us, and we know peace. 

That is God intervening in our lives in our behalf.

Thank you.