Who do you follow?

We are all disciples of something or someone.  Many times, we are unaware of the doctrines we are buying in to.  What some might view as an addiction could easily be considered a discipleship. Perhaps you are disciplined disciples of coffee?

The word disciple has a muddled etymology.  Some say it comes from the Old English, discipul, “one who follows another for the purpose of learning.” (Etymonline.com). Others say it is from the Latin word discipulus, which means “student, learner, or follower.” (Vocabulary.com) And, let us not leave out the Greek mathetes, which generally means “one who is constantly associated with someone who has a pedagogical reputation…” (en.wikipedia.org)

In our current nebulous world, some are constantly checking their following.   Many times, I have heard someone say, “I follow so and so…”. For what purpose?  Do we follow others to learn and thus could be considered a disciple of their teachings?  Something to ponder.

Let us consider now the word disciplined. Discipline comes from the same Latin root, discipulus.  The Oxford Language definition includes comments such as, “punish or rebuke formally for an offense”, and “train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.”

Consider the second definition; “train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.”  Have we not trained ourselves to check-in on those we follow in a “habitual way?”  How often do you check your social media feed and those you follow?  Hourly? Daily? Weekly?  What are you choosing to learn from those you follow?  What are you teaching to those who follow you?  These are just a few more ideas to take into consideration.

Who do you want to learn from?

We get to  hang out on this wonderful sphere we call Earth for a limited amount of time.  Humankind came to learn, grow, evolve, and teach.  We are Disciplined Disciples of many.  Are they the ones we truly want to learn from?

As we head into the darker days of the Wheel of the Year, this is an opportune time to clean up and clear out those items, ideas, and yes, people, who do not match our soul’s journey.  I invite you to take some time this month to decide who you want to be a disciplined disciple of and clear out all the rest.

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