Article March 28, 2016 Issue

Spiritual discipline—bringing joy, freedom, and healing

Deborah Huebsch

When I was in college, the remarkable French mime, Marcel Marceau, came to our campus to speak. One statement he made has stuck with me all through the years. Explaining why he took a fencing and a dance lesson every day while he was on tour, he said, “Discipline is the key to freedom.” He considered this daily training vital.

I’ve found that this idea is helpful when applied to disciplining thought spiritually.

Sometimes we may shy away from discipline because we think of it as only hard work. Words such as drudgery and rigidity are often associated with discipline. But the words disciple and discipline are derived from the same Latin word, discipulus, and in my efforts to be a faithful disciple, I’ve found exercising discipline in my prayer to be essential.