DISCIPLINE MONTH: DAY 18: “Bravery comes along as a gradual accumulation of discipline” ― Buzz Aldrin
I like this one…new for me this year. I don’t often see quotes from astronauts on the site where I get my quotes. But there is an interesting dynamic that comes into my mind with this one.
That is the connection between courage (bravery) and discipline.
No one gets to the Olympics or the moon without discipline. This requires a great deal of courage to say no to everything else but that thing which one MUST do. I don’t have that kind of discipline, nor do I have that kind of courage. But both are increased in my life today, as a result of the steps and their direct application to my life.
I knew a couple of very dedicated (disciplined) athletes in my younger days. They were obsessed with being the best at what they did. There was little room for anything else in their lives. I am intrigued by what it is that drives and motivates this kind of discipline.
Even with that kind of dedication to something, few of them “made it” in the most common use we have for this idea. They were not recognized either with gold medals or contracts for their work. I only know one or two who were.
The same goes with musicians, artists, writers, or any others who are devoted to their craft. While athletes have a short window in which to make the grade, due to age and the wearing out of the human body by a certain age, these others can “make it” many years later, even those who were devoted to doing other things in their early years.
I love to write. I have little discipline other than to do this every day. I have created a large list of people to whom I feel committed to writing this piece every day. Otherwise, I am not sure I would do it. I like having made myself accountable to you, because the doing of it helps me immensely.
I am connected by spirit to this keyboard and my flying fingers. I love the process. It works with pens and paper as well, but typing is so much faster and the writing flows freely. Some days I am shocked when I read what I write. Most of the time, I think I know where I am going, but it seldom stays there.
Back to the quote, we all know those people who are devoted to their “thing” and are seen by the world or at least their corner of it for that devotion. It is a beautiful thing. Some pay very high costs for their devotion, as in the case of both Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr.
While it may seem that there are those who seek only the rewards intrinsic in fulfilling the ego, sometimes even that is transcended. There are some who use their fame to do good works that would not be as impactful were they not famous.
Others do not weather the storms of being famous. The acclaim and the money can be problematic. But all of these people have exhibited great courage, some more so than others, because they dare to walk a path that is solitary and seldom allows them to veer off-course.
Being an off-course kind of person myself, I see how tremendously courageous being devoted to something can be. I hope to one day find the discipline required to dream bigger dreams and work to see them come true. They are there, inside my heart. And one day, perhaps, will be manifest out here in the world. We shall see….
Dolphin Hug 