Polls and Spin-offs

From Vicky Beeching Theologian, Writer and Broadcaster:

Every year in America a unique competition takes place. It’s organized by a magazine called Vetinary Practice News. They ask vets from across the country to send in X-rays of the strangest things pets have swallowed that year.

The winners of the 2014 “They Ate What?!” competition have been announced. First prize went to a frog named Kermit. His owner had decorated the tank with ornamental rocks. But rather than looking at their beauty, Kermit decided to swallow them – and not just one, but over 30. Thankfully after surgery he hopped away to a full recovery.

One runner-up prize went to a Great Dane who loved eating socks. This habit made him very ill, but no one was prepared for just how many socks he’d swallowed: the grand total was 43 and a half.

Reading about this made me wonder whether all my missing socks have been eaten by dogs over the years, as I rarely seem able to find a matching pair. It also made me think about deeper themes like discipline and self control.

These aren’t very trendy concepts; the opposite is painted as the ultimate lifestyle – that we’ll be happy if we can do whatever we please. But often that boundary-less life is as harmful for us as Kermit’s rock eating marathon, or the Great Dane with huge ball of socks in his stomach.

In the Bible St Paul used what 2000 years on still sounds like a useful analogy. As he put it: “Athletes exercise self control and in all things in order to win the prize”. Most of us aren’t athletes - I’m certainly not - but most of us do have goals and dreams we’d love to reach. Often what holds us back is discipline that’s tough to commit to or habits that seem to tough too break.

The author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. expressed it brilliantly: “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” Discipline may sound like an unpleasant word, but it’s the magic ingredient to turn distant goals into reachable realities.