Lent. It’s better than New Year’s! Seriously!
I’d much rather have a “season” than one day. Lent goes on for forty days!
I’d much rather have a celebration based on religious grounds than the fact that 365.25 days have expired since the last celebration for the same reason.
I’d much rather make goals to change something to show my love for another than to make those changes because, well, 365.25 days have passed since my last resolution.
Lent is awesome! It’s a time for reflection, for looking deep inside and seeing the ugly part of ourselves. Not to degrade ourselves, but to improve ourselves. We look inside and see what’s ugly. If that’s too hard, I mean if you think you’re perfect, or just can’t decided what you want to change…I have an easy trick to employ. If you were to die today, and be blessed by finding yourself approaching Peter at heaven’s gates…and you see a large sign above the gates – “What do you need to confess?”…what would you say? I mean, you have to figure out, before you get to Peter, what in your life would God have some issue with? The sins you can choose from are well documented.
There are the Seven Deadly Sins (the Denzel Washington movie “Fallen” still gives me the creeps…hate the ending! And now I hate the song, “Time is on my side”); Lust, Pride, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Envy, and Gluttony are usually enough for me. The trick is figuring out what thing you do, or say, or think which would fall under the wide brush stroke these seven sins paint. Do you look longingly at Beyonce? Do you get angry with your kids because they’re not living up to your expectations? Are you doing anything to excess? How about to the point where you are neglecting other important parts of your life? Are you spending too much time on the sand and not enough on the Golf Balls?
So, you would think it would be easy to identify our sins. But, I still find it tough, come this time of year to decide what to eliminate from my life. Yes, from my LIFE. Kristine and I have a long tradition of picking one thing to “give up” and one thing to “do.” The thing I usually try to give up is something I want to remove from my life. One thing each year…by the time I’m 80 (if I live that long) I should be a much better person! Since it takes 30 days to create or stop a habit…the forty days of Lent is perfect!
Some past Lenten efforts (most have stuck)
• I’ve stopped putting sugar on my food.
• I’ve stopped putting salt on my food
• I’ve stopped eating for the night at 7 PM
• Not watching TV (I watch but a LOT less than I used to)
• Keeping my eyes where they belong :-)
I also have started doing new things based on Lenten efforts
• Exercising daily (nope that didn’t stick)
• Actively Listening to my wife (nope)
• Eating 1 piece of fruit daily(this is a big improvement …and it has stuck)
• Eating healthier (kind of stuck)
Those are the ones that come to mind readily. So, the point is, we all have weaknesses, flaws, and we all commit sins. The idea has always been to stop doing the things we are ashamed of, the things that we don’t want to have to tell Peter about. And start doing the things we know are good for us, and good for our families. This should include doing good (and stop doing bad) things for our physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Even if you don’t fast and pray during Lent, you can benefit from the life-changing opportunity. You’ll be able to keep doing the good (new habit) and stop doing the bad (stop bad habits) for ever more!
So, what would you stop doing? What would you start doing?
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One really shouldn't need a holiday or lent to start caring enough about themselves enough to nurture their own development.
ReplyDeletetoo true...but most of us aren't at a place where triggers aren't necessary. We aren't self-disciplined enough, focused enough, or self-aware enough.
ReplyDeleteI've decided to start reading and responding to my brother's blog. I've decided to start doing tai chi daily. I've decided to reduce my red meat intake to once a week (Sunday dinner is always pasta, sauce and meatballs, yum). I've decided to start getting up earlier in the morning (and stop going to bed so late). I seem to work better later, but that may just be a function of my sleeping habits and not the other way around. And I love the "actively listening to your wife," goal. I listen to my wife but the active part sometimes is wanting.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of "to do's" with little focus. Do you have a vision?
ReplyDeleteSpoken like a true '(myopically) focused visionary.' No I don't have 'a' vision. I believe I have many visions. I hope I'm seeing my life with a 360 degree wide-angled lens. I understand the theory of perfecting (or at least becoming proficient at) one talent at a time by working at that one thing consistently for a period of time. But frankly, I'm somewhat impatient and easily bored or distracted. Now that sounds like a lack of focus even to me. However, I believe that variety is truly the spice of life. I feel I will enjoy myself more by tackling a diverse and varied set of goals each and every day. True, I may not achieve my goals in an orderly sequence, but I feel I'll grow and achieve mini-goals in many areas each day. I view life as an ongoing progression on numerous fronts in numerous ways. I equate this to my amassing an army of talent, effort and thought - then advancing this army in a slow progressive push at the many targets; as opposed to sending one soldier at a time to attack one target at a time. We both know I am no military tactician, that is clearly your domain. But I kind of like the imagery.
ReplyDelete