I like Lent. I do. But as someone who does not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, I’m not quite into the Christian theological Lent. So in the grand Unitarian Universalist tradition, I’ve adopted it to suit me, but I think the intentions are similar.
I will be giving up things for Lent. I take the Protestant version of Lent for this – yes, I could give up meat, but as someone who just doesn’t eat a lot of meat, this isn’t a challenge to me. I instead choose to give up something that I know I am either addicted to or something that I know will be difficult for me to do.
Lent, for me, is all about self-control. It is the triumph of ego over id. I want to prove to myself that I can indeed live without something that I think is essential for me. Last year, it was diet coke, and man was I a bear that first week of Lent. But I got accustomed to it, and Diet Coke has since become something I can take or leave. I donated the money that I would have spent on Diet Coke and I’ll donate the time as well. (Granted, not a lot of time spent on diet coke, but this will come into play this year.)
As someone who has found himself kinda believing in God, but not quite sure yet and I’m more comfortable with the term Universe for right now, I also see it in a spiritual way. It reminds me whenever I have that craving for x, y, and z that I can do things I don’t think are possible in the name of a spiritual devotion, in the name of God/the Universe.
This year, I’m going to give up two things. One public, and one private. I knew what the private one was going to be right off the bat – I’m going to be celibate for this period of lent. No sexual relations, no, er, “personal” relations, nothing. And the time spent on that, the brainpower and energy I’ve spent on that, I’m going to dedicate to being a more spiritual person. I’m going to take the time to really analyze myself and how I’ve been living my life for the past twenty-seven years.
But, well, come on, that’s not something you can really talk about with your coworkers about.
So I needed something public to give up. I’ve been struggling with this. I’ve been eating uber-healthy so far this year (I’m down 19.8 pounds so far this year) and not drinking a lot of diet coke. I thought about giving up my morning coffee, but, well, I don’t particularly see that as a big challenge. But then it hit me, as I took a sip of water. I’m going to give up bottled water. So, for the next 40-odd days, I will buy no more bottles of water. And I buy 1-2 a day. I will instead take bottles I have and refill them. And the more I think about it, the more I think this is a wonderful thing for Lent.
I won’t be adding to landfills with plastic bottles that will never biodegrade. I won’t be drinking the oil it cost to transport the bottles of water to where I purchased them. Seventh principle in action right there. I won’t be spending the money on something I can get much cheaper from my faucet (I mean, I even *have* a Brita water filter on my faucet that I don’t use. This will be difficult for the convenience – I don’t think it’s a true addiction like my Diet Coke was last year, but it is going to be hard for me to give up. I like the Church of England’s call for a technological fast, but I can’t do that because of work…that is an idea for me that I’ll try to do for next year’s lent though. But this year, I feel pretty content with my choices for Lent. Let the spiritual discipline begin!
Update: Hey, just found this out. Want to participate in Lent but unsure what to give up? This plan over at Busted Halo looks pretty good
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on Lent. I am also a UU and walking my own path. Lent has become an important period of self-reflection and — as you suggest — a time for increased practice of self-control and focus on spirituality.
This year, I still have to make my plans more concrete by planning my spiritual practice and alternative actions/non-actions during the season of Lent but I am off to a good start…
I was happy to read about your Lent aspirations. Please report back on how it is going for you.
cheers,
I’m considering abstaining from something this lent as well. I know it should be alcohol, as that will really be hard for me (though I really only drink on the weekends). But I think that’s what I should choose.
Danielle – I think the harder it is, the more meaningful it will be. I did NOT think I would be able to do it last year with giving up diet coke. But I was at a place in my life where I really, really needed to show to myself that I was a strong person – and sure enough, I made it through without cheating once. When I got that diet coke craving, and they were bad that first week, I kept telling myself be strong. And I did it. And That feeling of accomplishment was better than any diet coke I could of had.
You may interested in my poem “What Unitarian Universalists Should Give Up for Lent, If the Observed It, Which They Don’t, Most of Them” from my Meditation Manual
“We Build Temples in the Heart.” You can find it at: http://books.google.com/books?id=vLDHaCkvudIC&lpg=PP1&ots=IDdtwQt0o_&dq=Patrick%20Murfin%20Lent&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q=&f=false
I’m a lover of Lent with a practice of taking on something new. This year the experiment is emerging like this: http://tinyurl.com/ykvtscc
I grew up UU and have never observed Lent before, but for some reason this year I’ve been feeling really attracted to the idea. That program at Busted Halo looks like a fantastic way to start—thanks so much for sharing it!
As a UU I wouldn’t know where to begin with Lent. Just not my thing. But my daughter, she was going to become Buddhist for Lent, which for all it’s UUness kills me! Instead she gave up meat. Good for you for giving up well… that and bottled water!
Sexuality can be spiritual and spirituality can be sexual. So, I’m sorry that you have dissociated the two. Well, maybe your sexuality became more spiritual after your bout of sexual abstinence.
I love the idea of becoming Buddhist for Lent, that’s awesome!