Most years for Lent I have given up sweets. I was successful only once, in 2001, I think; I forget the year, but I had devoted myself to fitness in an almost obsessive way. It was a tough 45ish days without a piece of candy, cake, or bowl of ice cream. But I was doing that more for myself than to bring myself closer to God, which is a big part of doing (or not doing) something for Lent.
I don't have nearly the faith I did then, but I do try most days to be a decent human being. If everyone strove to do that, the world would be a pretty great place, and it likely would not matter so much which religion people were, or if they had a religion. But I digress.
This year for Lent I have decided to do a few things.
I am heading out to walk the dog now. Hopefully during that walk, I do some good (other than picking up litter, which I do nearly every day, and seems "unfair" to count it more than once). If not, I will definitely be counting the 3 loads of laundry I am doing. If that is not a good, selfless deed for the family, I don't know what is! :-)
I don't have nearly the faith I did then, but I do try most days to be a decent human being. If everyone strove to do that, the world would be a pretty great place, and it likely would not matter so much which religion people were, or if they had a religion. But I digress.
This year for Lent I have decided to do a few things.
- Try to lessen my "saying the opposite" of what the hubs says. I do this. A lot. It is not so much that I have to be right. I am pretty sure I AM right most of the time (he would disagree). But I am going to try to let things go more. This one is going to be tough. Really, really tough. But important. I don't expect to go 40 days (or even 4 days). But if I can do it a little less, that will be all the better for our relationship.
- Be thankful for what I have daily. Although I am not the steadfast prayer (prayor?) that many religious people are, I try to pray most days. And I try to say thanks during these prayers. But I am going to make a conscious effort to specifically name one thing every day that brings me gratitude and put it on Twitter and maybe FB. I have committed to do this in both places, which will likely compel me to carry it out.
- While I am posting about what I am thankful for, I will also post something good I have done. I am not looking to save a life or bring someone immeasurable joy, but small things can add up. And even if they don't seem to, doing something good is still doing something good and will hopefully make me a better person. And, as Pope Francis recently said on Twitter, "Do not underestimate the value of example, for it is more powerful than a thousand words, a thousand “likes”, retweets or YouTube videos."
- Eat better and eat less This is not really related to Lent, though, but I want to include it here. I joined a "weight race" at work with two other coworkers. We each set a goal to lose so many pounds in 12 weeks. My goal is 6, but I will be somewhat satisfied with 4. If I lose only a pound or two or nothing, I will be disappointed, and it will tell me that I did not fulfill #4. I am keeping up with exercise, but eating, unfortunately for me, is a bigger part of losing weight. I have done well the last two weeks during the week, but I kind of faltered last weekend. We shall see how the rest of this weekend goes.
I am heading out to walk the dog now. Hopefully during that walk, I do some good (other than picking up litter, which I do nearly every day, and seems "unfair" to count it more than once). If not, I will definitely be counting the 3 loads of laundry I am doing. If that is not a good, selfless deed for the family, I don't know what is! :-)
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