Giving Myself the Freedom to Fly!

I have been creating more mats from handmade paper scraps. It’s fun to get back to where I started years ago. I was thinking about how long I have been making these types of mats, and it all began somewhere around 1998. Since then I have made hundreds and hundreds of pieces and enjoyed the process of making these paper tid bits into something beautiful. These words from Julie Andrews made me think:

Some people discard discipline as a chore.
For me its a kind of order
that sets me free to fly.

– Julie Andrews

I was struck by her description of discipline as a runway for the freedom to fly. In a time when people feel like discipline is restrictive and repressive, where we tell people to follow their own path and do what they want, discipline sounds a bit extreme. Julie Andrews sees it as a safety net that allows her to fly above it all and soar.

As I pondered this, I understood what she meant. If your world is in a mess, if there is nothing stable, secure, organized or even reliable, the result is chaos that impedes your creativity. If you spend more time finding your tools than using them, if your head is filled with tumbleweeds and matted spider webs, if your life feels out of control…it can be hard to feel free to find new ideas. To succeed there needs to be structure which means discipline. Julie is right, there is freedom in discipline. It allows us to let go of finding things or wading through the mess. With discipline comes security in knowing what is where, which gives space for new ideas and new outcomes. Our most precious commodity is time. If we waste it looking for things instead of using them to bring our ideas to life, we have lost our ability to fly.

So no matter how restrictive the word discipline might feel, lean in. Get organized and discipline yourself to stay organized. Then watch how your mental and physical abilities shine. I know where the pens and papers are that I want to utilize to keep creating these fun pieces, and I have discipline myself to put it all away so I can find it again tomorrow. THAT is giving myself the freedoms to fly. I encourage you to do the same.