40
“What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happenin’!”
You know it’s Lent, right? It doesn’t matter if you believe in Lent or follow Lent, it is still Lent and millions (probably billions) of people around you are thinking about it. So, unless you are aggressively paying no attention physically or psychically, you’ve likely got an inkling that it is Lent. And you probably know it lasts until Easter at which point you get to eat all that chocolate you’ve been waiting for, but not until after church.
There are a helluva lotta 40-day events in the Bible: Noah, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all had 40 days of something to endure. Lent, of course, is also 40 days, but we know that going in. I don’t believe any of the above knew that they would be tested for a specific window of time--not even Jesus (though, while he liked to say he didn’t, he pretty much knew what was going on most of the time). Jesus undertook his temptation in the wilderness before he embarked on his ministry. It was a time for him to ready himself for what he knew was to come. So, here is my question: if Jesus knew his time in the desert would be over in 40 human days and he also fully understood the power of his own divinity and could stop the event at any time, was anything Satan waved in front of him really a temptation? No. So, he must not have known how long the suffering and hunger would last and he must have been truly tempted--there had to have been real risk for him. And his making it through his 40-day trial told him that he was prepared to venture into the next phase of his life. The readiness is all.
As I think about what I want to give up/take on for Lent, I like to focus on the purpose of Lent--to prepare for the next chapter in life--not just the action of it. The priest at my parish, Father Neil, spoke a few of years ago on the purpose of Lent. He said that we should do something for Lent that affects a permanent change in our behavior, not just a temporary one. He advocated making a change that would stretch beyond Lent and become a symbol of the power of that time in our lives. That year, I gave up taking the bus from my house to the train to go to work. My 15-17 minute walk to the train has become an important part of my day and has increased my exercise, audiobook, and alone time to 30-45 min a day--an enviable sum! It’s also prepared me for the 15-17 minute walk I currently make to my job, which is not downtown. I walk pretty much everywhere--I consider any distance up to 3 miles walkable--and credit my Lent experience with making this happen.
This year at Lent, I am asking a similar question: What can I do to improve my sense of purpose? I’ve gone back to my idea of The Everyday Every Day. I wrote a piece about this a couple of years ago but it has kind of drifted away from me as of late. The concept is to find the extraordinary things in my life and make them an ordinary part of my day. Like using wedding china for lunch. The Everyday Every Day.
Write. I have fallen out of the habit of 5am journaling and have fallen into 5am social media, news, snoozing the alarm. I plan to be at my desk with my coffee at 5am Sunday through Friday (I get to sleep in on Saturdays) journaling.
Exercise. I am not an exercise slacker. I walk a lot (above) and am training for 5 and 10 mile races coming up in late March and May. And I do yoga. But I don’t do something every day so I treat it as a special event rather than my ordinary routine. I want to make exercise more intentional and less incidental every day.
Track. I’ve been on Weight Watchers since January of 2017 and it has been a slow journey. I have 5lbs left to lose. But I have had 5lbs left to lose since before Christmas. I think I need to get back to writing down what I eat. Every day.
Pray. It’s not that I don’t do it, but I don’t do it as intentionally as I would like to. I downloaded an app that provides me with a daily 3-minute meditation.
Love. I don’t really say “I love you” very much. In fact, my daughter has taken to offering her hand to shake in the mornings when she leaves for school and before she goes to bed. I think we can do better. I am going to make a point to tell the people in my life that I love them every day. And I’ll include the cat.
I’m sure some of you are thinking, “this doesn’t really follow what you are supposed to do for Lent” and others are saying, “that’s an awful lot to take on.” My response: No, probably not. And yes, probably. I know doing these things will improve my sense of purpose--these actions will help me see why I am here, wherever here is. And will give me the confidence and wisdom to take on the next step--whatever there is. Will I be tempted not to do these things? Of course. Will I be glad when these actions move from special features to regular attractions? Yes. Will I ask myself to manage any of this without chocolate, wine, or coffee? Absolutely not.
