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Moon Clock by Donald Hall
Like an oarless boat through midnight's watery
ghosthouse, through lumens and shallows
of shadow, under smoky light that the full moon
reflects from snowfields to ceilings. I drift
on January's tide from room to room, pausing
by the wooden clock with its pendulum that keeps
the beat like a heart certainly beating, to wait
for the pause allowing passage
to repose's shore--where all waves halt
upreared and stony as the moon's Mycenaean lions.
You can find this poem in The Selected Poems of Donald Hall.
Now that we’re past Quitter’s Day (Jan. 19) and perhaps some of us see more clearly which New Year goals will stick and which ones we might not be ready for quite yet, let’s talk about discipline.
Discipline can have so many negative feels, right? Just hearing the word “discipline” reminds me of punishment when I was a child. I’ve been letting this word roll around in my mind for a couple of weeks because I know how unfavorable it might sound to say we need more of it. When people in power over us such as bosses, teachers, or parents are doling out the discipline, it might not feel good. But what if we discipline ourselves? What if self-discipline is the thing that makes us stronger, happier, healthier? What about disciplining ourselves to do the things we really want? To be the people we long to be?
I heard a statement a few months ago that said, “We have to show up for our future selves today. We have to be that person now.” If you want to learn some Portuguese for a trip you’re taking to Brazil in eight months, you can’t spend night after night on the couch watching tv. You have to break out Duolingo and practice each night. Or before you know you’ll be in Rio knowing not even the most basic phrases.
Once you know the kind of life you want to have, the relationships, work, health, finances, etc., then what? Do you just keep wishing in a dreamy kind of way? Do you get out your crystals, set your intentions, and wave some smoke around at the New Moon? Do you write in your manifestation journal or meditate?
These are all helpful to do, but how and whether we reach our goals depends on whether we do the thing. Every day or every week. Consistently. When no one is watching. When we don’t feel like it. When we’re tired or bored or would rather go binge-watch something. Focused time toward those intentions we set or revisit each New Moon.
For example, I’ve been “dreaming” of getting a collection of poems self-published before I’m 50. That’s a doable goal…if, and only if I write the poems, edit, and rewrite, and learn all the technical steps required to self-publish. Otherwise, I’ll be dreaming of publishing that collection before I’m 60. I must discipline myself to do these things and, as Brendon Burchard would say, put it on the calendar. If it’s not scheduled, it’s not going to happen. A dream is not a goal.
I actually have lots of dreams and goals. And many of them have definitely happened. I wanted to become an aromatherapist so I completed a training. I wanted to become a meditation teacher so I completed a training. I wanted to become a yoga teacher so I completed three different trainings. Some of the work was interesting and exciting (especially when starting a new program) and some of it was dull and definitely not exciting (especially after I’d been in the training awhile.)
When I look back on each of those trainings, I had to give them my intention, attention, and willpower. Intention was the “I want to be a yoga teacher” part, for example.Attention was my focus: taking notes and attending classes. Willpower came in when I had a list of steps for certification that I had to systematically work through and complete. When I didn’t feel like it. When I was feeling tired or lazy or even afraid I wouldn’t know what to do or I wouldn’t be good enough. No one could do the work for me. It was up to me and my will. I could either do it or not.
The discipline was setting aside time to complete the work. And it wasn’t negative even if I didn’t feel like doing it because I had set my intention to be a yoga teacher. People like to mention “your why” these days and, I agree, why you do something is important. So is “your what”. How did it start? “I want to be a yoga teacher”. There was a why too: “I want to teach people who are intimidated by yoga they see on Instagram or in magazines, people who are less flexible or not in a slender or young body. I want to show them that yoga is for them with the body they have and that they can experience the benefits of a physical yoga practice with simple and doable poses.”
On the days I doubted myself or didn’t feel like doing the work for yoga teacher certification, I could look back at my intention which was “my what”: that I wanted to be a yoga teacher. This helped me remember that I signed up for this work; I chose this path. At the beginning of goal-setting or intention-setting or a new program, there’s so much high and positive emotion that you think everything will be easy and exciting every day. So you do the work or check the thing off your list for a few days. Then you get bored; all the shine has worn off.
This is where self-discipline comes in. It’s not about how you feel. It’s acting with purpose and clarity toward your intention or goal. Toward “your what” and “your why”. Toward your future self. Once you set your intention, you can revisit it daily, weekly, monthly. And ask yourself if this intention still holds true or does it need to change. It’s fine if it does. But if you are still intending toward a future goal, discipline will bring you closer and closer to your goal.
You can speak to yourself kindly and encouragingly. Disciplining oneself doesn’t have to be cruel and harsh! You can channel your inner Louise Hay with some affirmations: “My intention is to become a yoga teacher and I am willing to do the work required to reach this goal. I am happy for the opportunity to take this training and learn so many wonderful new things. I am grateful for the instructors and fellow students I’ve gotten to know during this training and look forward to what this certification will afford me.”
When you finally climb up the hill and reach your destination, you will feel the satisfaction of completion and accomplishment. You will feel confident in your ability to figure things out, work hard, learn, and finish something. And then in that new confidence, you’ll probably set another goal and start the process over.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. This helps keep my blog ad-free.
Since I went gluten free eleven years ago, I’d never tasted a homemade waffle. I made regular waffles for my kids when they were at home and purchased frozen waffles for myself whenever I had a hankering for some. Until 2024! As soon as the new year was born I began to think about waffles. Alan had an old waffle maker from before my time, so I dug it out, cleaned it up, and mixed up some gluten free batter.
Complete fail! The waffle maker must’ve lost its nonstick coating because the first waffle stuck to the surface even after I’d oiled it. So I dug it all out (with a plastic utensil) and started over. This time the waffle maker stuck together like glue. No manner of pulling could pry it apart. So that one went into the landfill and I made the rest of my batter into an unsatisfactory pancake. I was so sad because I’d felt so virtuous cleaning up the waffle maker and putting something old to use again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t old old, it was just early 2000’s old which means it was built for obsolescence.
Then I fumed, hemmed, and hawed for a couple of days, wondering what the best solution was and still craved waffles. I decided to purchase this Cuisinart waffle maker because the design was simple, it had lots of good reviews, and the price was right. I didn’t want bells and whistles; I just wanted it to make good waffles.
The day after it came, I read all the instructions, wiped it down with soap and water, brushed oil on it and plugged it in. I whipped up a new batch of batter in the blender this time, (I will always mix GF waffle batter in the blender from now on), poured in my first half cup of batter and closed the top. Success!!! It didn’t stick, the batter didn’t pour out the sides (the bane of waffle making!), and the waffle tasted delicious.
I made the whole batch, cooled the ones I didn’t eat on a baking rack, and then froze them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, I popped them into a zip-top bag and put them back in the freezer. Because the size of the waffle is too big to reheat in the toaster, I put it in the toaster oven to defrost. (I tried breaking one up into fourths and defrosting half at a time in my little two-slot toaster but by the time the second half was ready, the first was cold.)
After eating eggs and toast for years, I’ve been switching it up with eggs and a waffle. I’m sure I’ll tire of them after a while, but right now they’re really making my mornings happy. Since I’m not drinking coffee right now, mornings have been a bit hard to face, to be honest. I LOVE coffee, even the decaf I’ve been drinking after I turned forty. But I was having so many health problems and after reading that coffee is a significant source of mold, I decided to cut it out of my diet, along with some other things, at least for now. Every morning it’s a battle as I remind myself of all the ways my health seems to be improving after only ten days but it’s still difficult not to give in. I keep looking at the calendar asking, “Hasn’t it been at least a month yet?”
I don’t recommend using cooking spray on your non-stick waffle maker surface. Use oil and a silicone brush. Olive oil, sunflower oil, refined coconut oil–any of those oils are great. Cooking spray has other stuff added besides just oil and it will gum up your waffle maker. In fact, I don’t recommend cooking spray on anything and haven’t used it in about fifteen years. A silicone brush or a paper towel and some oil work just fine.
I used my own gluten free flour blend to make the waffles. I mix up a good amount of flour all at once so I have it for several weeks at a time. (Here’s my gluten free flour recipe: 4 cups brown rice flour, 2 cups sorghum flour, 2 cups tapioca flour/starch, 1 cup arrowroot powder/starch/flour, 5 teaspoons xanthan gum. Mix really well and store in an airtight container.)
If you use the gluten free waffle recipe above, put your waffle ingredients in a blender if you have one. You can blend in a stand or hand mixer, but there will likely be lumps. Just put in the liquid ingredients first and then the dry ingredients and blend, scraping down the sides with a spatula a couple of times. Then transfer to a bowl while you make the waffles.
And if you spring for this Cuisinart waffle maker I just purchased, only use a half cup of batter at a time. Pour it into the middle and spread with a spatula, close the top and let it do its thing. Just once I put in a little more than half a cup and the batter oozed out all around which is what used to happen when I made regular waffles years ago in a two dollar garage sale waffle maker for my kids. And that’s what made made me think I hated waffle making. So whatever instructions come with your waffle maker, read them and find out how much batter exactly to pour in. It will make for a very pleasant experience and you likely will make waffles much more often.
Let me know if you make gluten free waffles (these or others) and share your tips!
Life of Kim 