October 5

DISCIPLINE MONTH: DAY 5: “The problem with patience and discipline is that it requires both of them to develop each of them.” ― Thomas M. Sterner

That is the bad news and the good news. Things do not get better right away when I make a change in my outer life. I feel it, usually, several weeks (sometimes months) later. Ugh! I am not, by nature, patient. I have to practice it, just like I have to practice all 12 of the spiritual principles.

That word, that one word, in Step 12 changes the way I look at everything! Because all of this stuff, life itself, is practice. I practice being in relationship with others; they all are a work in progress, or is it process? I practice being in recovery; some days more mindfully than others.

I practice being happy or sad or whatever I make up my mind I am. I can practice being afraid if I am projecting out into the future, where fear lives and my ego reigns. I can practice being in love (yes, I do know how to pretend and convince myself!) and that is usually a disaster (trust me!)

So discipline is something I have to practice. I am always amazed at how hard I make it to take good care of myself. I have to sometimes FORCE myself to do my morning 15-30 minutes of yoga. And to do the things that make me love my life so much! Why? I do not know…but thank God that I practice each day to do those things that have been wildly successful in creating an amazing life that I love to live!

I have to practice the discipline of eating well and working out and exercising. Why? Because I love the benefits of having a healthy body and tons of energy.

I have to practice the discipline of calling my sponsor; she is in shock if I forget…I must say that it has only happened twice in over 10 years. That is consistent, because that is what I was taught. I have done very little around here that wasn’t suggested to me in those very early days. It worked! So I keep doing those things.

I was taught to make my bed every morning, not because someone might see it, but because it is a form of self-esteem. So I do that. I can tell when I walk into someone’s home how they feel about themselves and their lives. We all can.

I was also taught to do and not to do certain things. I have never had to relapse into spitting. I am a recovering spitter. And, trust me, there have been some times when spitting was SUCH a good idea…but I refrained. Why? I was told it was an old idea. (No matter how good I think it is!)

So we get what we put into this deal. And life is all practice. I can practice ANYTHING for one day. And I have to ALWAYS remember that I am not doing any of it…I get to practice these things because I live in grace.

My ego is so big it has its own zip code…and I cannot afford to take credit for how things have unfolded in my life. I would love to tell you how “I” did this and “I” did that…not true. I worked some steps and was blessed with the healing power of the Universe in so many arenas of my life. What a gift…and all I have to do is practice, practice, practice being disciplined.