The virtue I am presenting for consideration is self discipline. The New Oxford Dictionary defines it as "the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it." If I am honest my life has been influenced in various degrees by both its possession and its absence. Unfortunately the latter has prevailed by means that are so familiar to me I do not feel the need for any further self flagellation by presenting them here.
An opinion piece in the The North Territory Times (1917) encapsulates its meaning for me; self-discipline is, or should be, the end and aim of all other discipline. In the same breath I am earnestly informed that a test of its quality; and an indication that I will be thankful for the knowledge of having cultivated it in my life, is when it has gradually merged into a feeling of self-control. This is I presume is where my intention manifests as an action, such as the intention of actually doing what I say I am going to do. The times I have actively embodied the character of self discipline has provided me with glimpses of the meaning and the blessing of freedom. Its brief possession has allowed me to realise that with its abscence, my mind is a scene of disorder and confusion in which I am its powerless victim.
I am painfully aware the modern world is relentlessly acting upon me and I am constantly being tempted by an almost continuous flood of conflicting impulses, feelings and emotions. I sometimes feel I live in a world that requires me to manifest every emotion or whim without any check. This reminds me of a story that I recently read about Sir Walter Scott when he was a little boy. He was said to remark during dinner, "How good is this soup?" in which his Father responded by ordering a pint of cold water to be poured into it as a 'lesson' not to think of his appetite. I do not presume that I should be able to follow my wishes without hindrance however I am mindful that 'self discipline' nurtured allows me to make my choices with a degree of personal responsibility.
Frankly no wonder I am seeking words of inspiration and guidance with the urgency of a divining rod. My submission to excess has been complete however in my defence if it was measured with a bell curve, I would like to believe that I share a place in its shade with all the other 'normal neurotics'. My version of excess manifests itself by the need to mindlessly consume as my iTunes account is a testament. I sometimes ashamedly believe that my gadgets are more important than my relationships and disturbingly I have been seduced by a fear that is drip fed by an unforgiving environment (media, internet etc..). It has invaded my consciousness as imperiously as stronger country invades a weaker one.
In "Discipline and Self Control" (1926) it is eloquently articulates the problems of living in the midst of a technologically advancing world. Its sage advice is just as relevant to my modern ears as it is to the decadents of those 'roaring' times. Accordingly the problem I assume is like many others of my generation is to actually determine how I can organise and associate all my life experiences so as to weave them all into a harmonious pattern of peace and happiness. Perhaps the weaving is the act of self discipline and akin to the actual craft of fabric production it also a creative process. Reassuringly and at the same time equally baffling is that my own happiness is essentially a volition of my mind manifesting itself as intent.
Referennces
1917 'SELF-DISCIPLINE.', Northern Territory Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873 - 1927), 20 September, p. 13, viewed 8 June, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3285672
1926 'DISCIPLINE OR SELF-CONTROL.', Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 - 1954), 27 October, p. 13, viewed 8 June, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67537182
1936 'DAY BY DAY.', The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), 12 May, p. 6, viewed 8 June, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25217232
