the birm*

Discipline, good or bad?

I was reflecting, the other day, that discipline has got a bad wrap over the years. These days it’s kinda like something that’s there to spoil all fun and spontaneity. Whether in life, sport, career, hobbies or faith, it seems that people are steering away more and more from discipline towards a sort of “do it and then see what happens” or “do what you feel when you feel”. I was just reading Charlie’s blog and was amazed to see a quote relating to what I’d been thinking about (I wasn’t amazed to see a good quote, as Charlie’s blog is usually the place for good random quotes). Here it is, it’s by Henri Nouwen:

'In the spiritual life, the word discipline means "the effort to create some space in which God can act." 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.'

Thanks for posting that quote mate!