Self-Restraint

Self-restraint

“Self-restraint means giving direction to life, giving it vision and a goal.  A man without restraint runs in all directions, not knowing where to go or what is to be attained; he has no aim, no goal in life.  He is like a blind man shooting an arrow.  A life of restraint is one in which a person is well aware of his goal; he knows exactly where to let his arrow fly.  An arrow that is let fly haphazardly cannot possibly hit the target.  No power is attained without restraint and moderation.” – Osho “The True Name” pg. 488

I see this quote to be very relevant to our modern lives.  With the invention of the internet, cell phones, and other technologies, it has made the population have much less self-restraint.  In particular to the Martial Arts, students cannot just pick one teacher, they want to learn from thousands of teachers online.  This makes the student run in all directions, not knowing where to go, like a blind mind shooting an arrow. 

The same goes with relationships.  People have no self-restraint; they are easily led astray from their partners, jumping from one partner to the next, like they are changing shirts.  There are no long-term commitments. This results in a lot of broken hearts and broken homes. 

The same thing with employment, people are jumping from job to job with no commitment to any companies.  People can’t wait for food; all food must be made in a hurry.  People in modern society don’t know how to slow down and relax.  The don’t know how to deal with struggle, when there is struggle, they quit right away and move onto something new.  This has developed an entire population of people who really end up living their lives with no real purpose.