Today is Ash Wednesday. the beginning of Lent. I didn't go to church to get ashes on my forehead. I haven't done that in many years. I will however begin my Lenten readings tonight. I read two different books, one entitled "Thorn, Fire, and Lily" and one with meditations by Thomas Merton. I've read read them every Lenten season for the past few years. I usually don't make it through each book, I start skipping a night or two then just quit reading them altogether.
And this bring to mind the whole idea of abstaining from or giving up something for Lent. As a child it would be things like candy or ice cream or not picking on my siblings (that one never stuck). As an adult it would be chocolate or alcohol or shopping. But it never sticks. Then I started to look at it from a different angle. Instead of abstaining from an activity or giving something up why not try doing something that is a discipline. So, I decided to make my discipline going to church every Sunday during Lent. I went once. So, obviously the discipline angle doesn't quite work for me.
So once again it's Lent and I'm not abstaining from anything nor am I giving anything up. And I'm trying a discipline. In a sense it's like New Year's resolutions. We make them and within the month most of them are broken. I realize the difference between the two and in no way can New Year's compare with Lent.
This year I'm leaving myself open to all possibilities. That seems the best way to go through this Lent.
I like adding some reading with spiritual meaning. One year, it was Thich Nhat Hanh's "Going Home: Jesus & Buddha as Brothers." Other times, I've worked on giving up things like boredom & being mean. This year, I am committing to getting out into God's creation for at least half an hour each day, looking around to see what's out there. And I am doing the UCC's "Carbon Fast."
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