DISCIPLINE

Discipline: to train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.  It is something we all strive for, know we should be better at, or fail miserably when attempting to be so. 

A good source of self-inflicted guilt, discipline can hang over our heads like a black cloud.

Maybe that's because the other meaning behind the word contains punishment. Discipline also means: to train someone to obey rules or codes of behavior, utilizing punishment to correct disobedience. 

No wonder we so easily resist discipline. We wouldn't punish ourselves! We can get away with not doing, right?

But we do punish ourselves, through guilt. When I began these writings I was determined to write six days a week, taking only Saturdays off. And I did well for a while. Then the lens became less focused. Entries felt repetitious. Readership leveled. Does a lack of vision promote complacency? Does complacency make me feel guilty when I don't write? 

You see, discipline involves focus. An ideal must be set. Regarding Smiles, Frowns, and Kisses, I was hoping the vision would become clearer the more I wrote. And in some regard it did, but not to the degree required. 

And so, as the actor Alan Rickman (1946- ) says:

"There's a voice inside you that tells you what you should do."

And so I focus again. Re-focusing must be key. 

The future for Smiles, Frowns, and Kisses is feelings. It's what life is about is it not? We smile. We frown. We love. Feelings are what drives behavior, makes us who we are - and can cause more confusion than we may want to acknowledge. So let's tackle that. 

My original goal in starting this blog was to help people recognize their importance - to their friends and families, to themselves, and in the world - a world in which not all is equal.

So, I urge you as I urge myself:

"The first and best victory is to conquer self." 

Plato (427 BC-327 BC)

See you tomorrow.