It's been said that one is not supposed to discuss his or her Lenten sacrifice to others. I think the point of this relates to those who would boast about their righteous holiness by demonstrating their austere actions during Lent out in the open. However, since everyone knows I'm neither righteous nor holy, I'm going to talk about it.
Because Lent, for me, is more of a mental, psychological exercise. I look forward to Lent. It gives me an opportunity to take stock of my life over the past year and discover where I'm acting in excess. I appreciate being able to prove to myself that there is almost nothing in this world I cannot live without (save, of course, my loved ones).
My first Lent, I decided to go full throttle. I gave up chocolate, coffee, and soda. I did this largely because all of these things were enormously aggravating to my system due to my FMS. I was pretty unpleasant that Lent, I admit, but I made it. After that, it was pretty easy to pass up any of those three items to avoid physical discomfort. Another year, I gave up all sweets. Fruit was allowed, natural sugars, but no refined sugars or desserts. That was a great experiment because it has knocked my taste for "bad sugar" out of me. I like a very occasional piece of chocolate or dessert, but certainly not everyday. Last year I gave up watching TV (I don't have cable, so, I guess I really gave up watching Frasier).
It's gotten to the point where I'm not sure if I have any excess left to give up.
I had played around with the idea of a vow of silence. The chances of me ever joining a monastery are laughably slim, so, I thought this might be a good time to experience the discretion they must exercise when they are allowed to speak. When your time to talk is limited, I would imagine that you choose only what's most important to you to say when your time to talk finally arrives.
Then, I read something somewhere... To paraphrase, I read that one should not choose to give up anything that interferes with others around you. This is a personal exercise. So, after some thought, I decided that a vow of silence would be a little difficult to work out without affecting everyone I know who interacts with me on a regular basis.
So, I guess I asked myself what it was I really wanted out of a vow of silence. The only times I could be silent without bothering anyone would be times I'm silent already. I'm not particularly an excessive talker. So, why was I so interested in shutting up?
I found that what I wanted was more concentrated time to be quiet so that I could find some clarity, to open channels to peaceful, constructive contemplation.
Therefor, I've decided to include moments in my days that will definitely ask me to be quiet, but I wanted to go a step further. If I'm really honest, what I do have in excess is a lack of a routine...
...so, I'm doing the unthinkable... I'm going to set for myself, a routine...
Oh boy.
Thanks for dinner and the King Cake, Anya... I'll be thinking about that cake when I get up at 8 tomorrow morning...
(from http://ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com)
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