Faith vs. Discipline

I just read a great blog on faith vs. discipline by Sage Cohen of Writers on the Rise.

She found this quote from novelist Alice Sebold in the May issue of O Magazine:

“A difficult lesson, which I fought at every turn, is that what often must substitute for faith is discipline. Faith has a lovely ease about it, an ethereal ring. Discipline is the rod, the staff, your insecurities internalized and sprouting rules and limits on your life. Why can’t I just have faith that books will be completed? Why isn’t faith alone enough? I hear my Southern roots respond. Faith doesn’t dig ditches, they say; faith doesn’t scrape the burn from the bottom of the pot. Ultimately, faith gives freedom, and discipline, its sister, makes sure the job gets done.”


Read the full entry here.

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Now that July is coming to an end and the School Supply Sales are hitting the stores, I'm thinking about fall and my writing life, which returns then. Even b.c (before children) I never wrote much in the summer. It was sort of my relaxation time, traveling time, just hanging out and enjoying life time. And now, with this last week of clouds & rain (now which seems to be gone), I'm looking forward to my wool sweaters, hot coffee, and reentering my writing cave. I love summer, but I love autumn even more and how it gives the gift of rain and no reason to be anywhere else except at my laptop or on the sofa with a book.

Comments

  1. Wow, this is beautiful. The quote and your comment on it. Yeah, I have trouble in summer. I write but it doesn't feel right . . .

    ReplyDelete

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