God's Ultimate Guide To Self-Discipline
The Grasshopper and the Ant and Other Well Known Stories
Summer is on its way! Have you found yourself gazing out the window at work yet, daydreaming of the fun you’re ready to have? Or maybe you’ve got a case of “senioritis,” knowing that the end of school is near. A lot of us find ourselves looking forward to our vacations, summer plans or trips, wishing they were already here. Pretty soon we’re in vacation mode before it’s even started!
What is it about good weather that sends us fleeing work, or a sunny Friday afternoon that has us retreating into our imaginations in the face of an enticing breeze? There’s no doubt that summer comes with vibes of relaxation and enjoyment, and it usually doesn’t hurt to hang back a little. Just think for a moment, though, what kind of people would we be if we remained sharp and focused right up until the very end?
Father Moon teaches a certain kind of self-discipline, centering around our conscience, which he called the unity between mind and body. If we practice this even in the minutest details of our life, we come to feel a certain kind of empowerment, an intentionality that we can’t quite grasp if our concept of “work” and “play” is too fluid. The concept of mind-body unity is apparent in all spheres of life—from physics to literature, and even history! Here are some stories that illuminate the power of finishing strong:
The Grasshopper and the Ant
In Aesop’s fable “The Grasshopper and the Ant,” a grasshopper asks his friend, the ant, to sing with him in the sun. The hardworking ant refuses and tells the grasshopper they need to collect food for winter. The playful grasshopper disregards the ant’s advice, and by next winter finds himself watching the ants enjoy the food they collected all summer, while he has none.
Doing work when it’s meant to be done can give us a huge advantage later on. Certain tasks are time-sensitive—like gardening—and if we don’t do it now, we’ll miss out on the harvest later.
How would the ant colony have been affected if the ant had decided to play along with the grasshopper? Even though there might be something more enticing going on, sometimes we need to focus on the work at hand, knowing there might not be a chance to get it done later. When that breeze makes its way through our window, let’s enjoy it in that small dose, knowing that our commitment to our work will pay off in the end.
An Object in Motion Stays in Motion
When we apply effort, we can generate a lot of momentum and keep going—just like Newton’s first law. When we stop ourselves, however, we can’t just start up again at the same speed. It’s kind of like those Monday mornings—it’s always a little bit harder to get back in the flow.
Father Moon said, “Any task we do requires sincerity and dedication, and not just for a day or two. It needs to be a continuous process. A knife used once and never sharpened turns dull. The same is true with sincerity and dedication. We need to continue our efforts on a daily basis with the thought that we are sharpening our blade daily.”
Our intellect and will can also dull with lack of use. It’s going to take more effort to get ourselves sharpened back up! No wonder they say to “keep your nose to the grindstone”! Keep yourself in motion and try to finish each day strong, so you can get back into it with ease the next!
Cut the Dove
Sometimes, doing less now can mean making bigger sacrifices later. In Genesis 15, God asked Abraham to bring him a sacrifice. “Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses. … ”
Abraham cut corners by not cutting the birds. The offering was desecrated, and God then asked him to sacrifice his first son, Isaac, to prove his faith and loyalty.
If we’re caught cutting corners, we probably won’t be asked to sacrifice our firstborn. We might, however, find ourselves having to prove ourselves to make up for slacking off. Instead, we can take ownership. When we own things, we tend to want to take good care of them—and the same applies to our work. If we owned a company, we’d probably want all our employees to work hard to complete each task to the best of their ability—that’s what ownership is all about! How would our work change if we took ownership over it?
Let’s be the owner of what we do at school or at work! Let us keep up our momentum; be the ant, not the grasshopper; and let’s not forget to cut the dove!