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Saturday, July 16, 2011

Passion and Discipline



I have been watching "So You Think You Can Dance" this summer and I've never watched it before.  I find it so fascinating!  I'm an artistic person in many ways with my music and even some visual art, but dance is very outside of my realm.  So I think one of the reasons I find it so engaging is that I relate to the beauty of the art but the way it is portrayed is so foreign to me!  It is truly beautiful.

Another thing though is that these dancers passionately and courageously put there hopes and dreams and talents right out there for all to see.  They don't hold anything back, but outwardly and loudly display who they are and what they are passionate about.

It inspires me actually.  Inspires me to live out loud!  Not to change who I am, but embrace it and show it.

I have also noticed these dancers have discipline. To get to where they are, to be able to produce such beautiful movement, they have to be extremely disciplined.

For myself, I am beginning to appreciate the worth of discipline in my life.  If I want to become a beautiful Christian woman, it takes discipline to build that relationship with God, to continue in the fight against all the things that want to distract me from prayer, God's Word, from living for Him.  If I want to become a beautiful musician, it takes discipline in warming up my voice, in keeping my hands in practice on the piano.  If I want to have a healthy body and feel great about myself, it takes discipline to choose to go for walks, to deny myself those small treats that I don't have room for, and to keep at it every day.  But the beauty of discipline comes when the day to day plugging away turns into a natural flow of what you have been practicing.  These dancers - the things they can do - the jumps, the lifts, the twirls and kicks, it is all so incredible - but behind it is years and years of daily working on flexibility, balance, etc.

I hope someday that my natural tendencies are to pray throughout everyday.  To trust Jesus no matter what.  That my voice stays strong and loud even as I age.  That I love others beautifully and naturally.  I hope that the things I struggle with and try to work on each day continue making me into a beautiful person.

2 comments:

  1. This also makes me think again of the "unforced rhythms of grace." I think discipline is a part of what Jesus calls learning from Him, learning the rhythms of grace. At the start it feels like learning, but eventually you become like Him and learn to move as He would move.

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