The Magic Change Purse

"It is essential... that discipline should not be practiced like a rule imposed on oneself from the outside, but that it becomes an expression of one's own will; that it is felt as pleasant, and that one slowly accustoms oneself to a kind of behavior which one would eventually miss, if one stopped practicing it."
~~ Eric Fromm

I have this little, woven change purse that I carry around. Didn't cost much, don't think about it much. Just a vehicle for carrying around change. No big thing.

The other day, I brought it out to put out money for a tip and someone said, "ah, the magic change purse. No matter how little money there is, that little change purse always seems to have just a little bit more."

Its all a matter of perception, I suppose. There's me who knows just how finite the funds are and then there's everyone else -- who only sees that little bit extra I manage to coax out when its needed. And who am I to contradict their perception? Especially since that perception brings with it a feeling of financial security. Not a bad thing at all, I think.

And what does this have to do with the quote?

Well, I've been thinking about creative recovery and how to move myself in the direction I need to go but more about that later. Discipline as an expression of my will is one of the concepts that goes along with that.