“Spontaneity is discipline in disguise — ample proof that beauty and the beast are often one and the same.” ~ the WiseFool

2009January 1st, 2009. Don’t look now, but 2009 is here. And not a moment too soon! If it hasn’t registered with you yet, perhaps it’s because you’re still a lil’ shell-shocked. Like the rest of us.

By some estimates, nearly 6.9 trillion dollars evaporated out of the market in 2008. This past year was our financial 9/11. America, the Titanic, hit a wall and went down… and took the whole world with it. If you’re reading this, you’re one of the survivors. Yeh!

Where did all that money go? Nowhere. Perhaps it was never there to begin with. Speculation does not constitute value. Borrowed boom must come home to roost at some point. Will the economy bounce back? Yes, of course. But things will NEVER be the same again. Ever. The great shift has only begun.

Don’t go stocking up on kerosene and spears just yet, for we need something else.

This means, these are the best or the worst of times — all depending on how you look at it. As the Wisefool would say, “We lost the shirt on our backs but saved ourselves by the skin of our teeth.” For had things continued the way they were going, humanity was done for. There’s no way that frenetic consumption of the past decade could have been sustained.

Say goodbye to “buy now, pay later.” Say hello to “pay as you go.” It’s all about DISCIPLINE, which had we had — 2008 would never have happened. Self-discipline — that’s what we need to stock up on. “But the horse has already left the barn. What good is discipline now?” you protest.

Ah! My friend, it’s never too late for sanity, is it?

Now that we’ve segued nicely into the jaws of the discipline beast, I have a confession to make: I’d be lying if I told you I am disciplined. I’ve never cared for the word discipline. I hate it with all my heart — which means I love it. It’s that ol’ love-hate thing, you know.

Discipline is a beast you come to respect, albeit begrudgingly. No one said you have like something to respect it.

We in America love our spontaneity and don’t much care for discipline, fiscal or otherwise. We like fun. We are fun. Fun is good. Spontaneity is fun, discipline ain’t. Discipline is mind-numbing and monotonous and just plain — yuck! What’s to love about it? Nothing! Or so it seems.

But discipline and spontaneity do make for good room mates. It gets better: Spontaneity is actually discipline in disguise. Especially if the spontaneity is sustained and has longevity. Spontaneity is what you get to show off to the world, discipline is what you keep to yourself.

Turns out, beauty and the beast can not only coexist, they are the same thing. They need each other: Discipline is useless if it can’t breed spontaneity; spontaneity can’t last without discipline.

Behind every scintillating star lurks silent discipline: From the longevity of Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and his antics to Micheal Phelps and his string of Olympic Golds to Barack Obama and his unprecedented presidency.

That said, what’s the easiest way to bring back some discipline into your life? Food. More precisely, your daily living relationship with food. Each time you sit down to eat may well be a workshop in personal discipline. The rewards?

More than you care to count. Besides, what you achieve with food will easily spill over into the rest of your life.

Now then, where did I hide those resolutions?

© Shri Yannam