Allowing a child to eat a box of chocolate could lead to
sickness. At the same time, the discipline of eating one or two pieces a day
can be an enjoyable experience for a longer time. Our instinct makes us do
whatever we want regardless of the consequences.
Freedom is not procured by a
full enjoyment of what is desired but controlling the desire. --Epictetus There
is a misconception that freedom means doing your own thing. One cannot always
have what one desires. Many times it is not easy to comprehend the benefits of good
values and discipline. It may even seem more profitable, enjoyable and
convenient to do otherwise. All we need to do is see countless instances where
lack of discipline has prevented people from succeeding. What we think is
pulling us down is really taking us up. That is what discipline is all about.
A
boy was flying a kite with his father and asked him what kept the kite up. Dad
replied, "The string." The boy said, "Dad, it is the string that
is holding the kite down." The father asked his son to watch as he broke
the string. Guess what happened to the kite? It came down. Isn't that true in
life? Sometimes the very things that we think are holding us down are the things
that are helping us fly. That is what discipline is all about.
I Want to Be
Free
We hear this phrase all the time: "I want to be free." If you
take the train off the track, it is free, but where does it go? If everyone
could make their own traffic Iaws and drive on any side of the road would you call
that freedom or chaos? What is missing is discipline. By observing the rule, we
are actually gaining freedom, aren't we?
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