The reason I have always loved is simple: renewal.
Spring is already such a transformative time… But it’s easy to get caught up in daily life and miss the extraordinary beauty of it all if you’re not careful. The process of Lent really helps me to re-center every year and reminds me to slow down with a grateful heart and appreciate the absolute ABUNDANCE of life.
Lent is a somewhat long, complex process that really takes years of study to full understand. But I decided to put together a little summary of the activities that I enjoy and value from the Lenten process that ANYONE can observe! Regardless of what God you believe in or lack thereof, but especially if you are Christian, you can try these methods to have a more reflective, mindful spring season. It will heighten your senses, slow you down, and make you SO grateful for your life around you.
The aspects of Lent that I practice & love that everyone, regardless of religious choices, can observe:
- Giving something (non-selfish) up for 40 days
I know I know. Typical Catholic depravity right here huh? But hear me out! This is the best part of Lent. When you give something up in your daily life that you enjoy, you have to constantly think about it. Remind yourself of a loss. That ping of emotion, takes you right back to the bigger picture (throughout your day!) – WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Oh yeah – GOD. So throughout your day, you are thinking about God and you are dedicating something hard to him. Wow.
Now! The IMPORTANT thing here, is not to give up something for YOURSELF. A lot of people use this time to try to lose weight (cutting out sugar or carbs for lent) or to improve themselves in some other way. This is NOT what lent is about. When you reflect on WHY you’re giving up what you are, it’s supposed to bring you back to what’s important: GOD (or Gaia or “mother earth” or any higher power) not your waistline. If your Lenten sacrifice just brings you back to YOU, you’re missing the point.
When you’re done, you feel like you’ve really climbed a mountain. But I find that the end result, is not really what you get out of it. It’s the daily process of reminding yourself of what’s important. Sure, maybe you can’t have meat or alcohol or soda pop or tv or whatever you gave up! But LOOK at all you DO have. Starting to be grateful for everything else is where that bigger sense of gratitude starts.
If you are Christian, that ping of loss also reminds you that this time is one where someone DIED for you – gave up not just social media or tv or meat – a whole life.
- Fasting twice
Now, before someone hops on me about supporting “diet culture,” this isn’t about losing weight y’all. Fasting in this sense, is incredibly spiritual. If you suffer from a poor relationship with food, I’d sit this one out. There are a ton of other amazing ways to experience lent that won’t set you back.
But fasting, again, is a reminder of what it’s like to go without. During lent when I was growing up, we would only have a bowl of rice on Wednesday nights for dinner. That’s it. No flavor, no meat or veggies. Rice. We’d always go to bed a little hungry. You could mis-construe that as poor parenting, but we have NEVER gone without, except at this time. Going to bed hungry reminded us of every other person who was doing so, not out of choice. At the table during this season, before we would eat our rice, my dad would read us a breakdown of if the world was 100 people, who would speak English? Who would have internet? Who would have only a bowl of rice for dinner? It was more than half of the world, that would only have rice for dinner out of poverty. We tried to absorb on that stark reality every lent and refocus ourselves towards the greater good.
(here is an updated version of the 100 people breakdown for 2016! Please read it if you have time). https://www.100people.org/statistics_100stats.php?section=statistics
- Meatless Fridays
This goes with the previous themes of giving something up. Especially in the Western world, we eat meat like it’s no big deal. An animal died so we could eat them. Every time you eat meat, you’re really taking a life. Since Christ died on a Friday, we skip the killing on Fridays during lent.
This practice, of skipping meat, is better for our environment, bodies, and for our animal friends. So even if you’re not trying to reflect on something religious, it’s a great practice during this spring season of renewal.
- Sabbath Sundays
To me, Sabbath just means selfcare! It’s time to literally just be human. Sleep in, read a book, veg out on the couch, do a face mask, spend time with your pet/family, take a long walk. Just relax – stop working. Do you.
During lent, and throughout the year, it is vital to take time to have a Sabbath. Whether you do this on Saturdays with Shabbat the night before or on Sundays with an early mass, taking a Sabbath extra serious during spring is a beautiful practice. We all need time to let our hair down in order to be our best selves!
- Extra prayer & time for reflection, extra time with loved ones
During lent, Catholics are encouraged to pray the rosary more. Stay home more. Spend time with loved ones more. Avoid alcohol, sex, drugs – keep it simple. Be awake. Be sober. Look at your life square in the face. Spend time reflecting on where you are at – meditating is a common practice for Catholics during lent, especially meditating on the stations of the cross which just means Christ’s walk from his last supper to his death – the hardest, most important moment of his life journey.
Making sure to connect with loved ones is important too because, as the ones who know you best, they tend to ground you, make you feel appreciated, and supported. Whoever this is for you in your life, spend extra time with them this spring.
Practicing these things and neglecting things like drugs/ sex/ alcohol help to recenter you on the simple joys of life and help you avoid recklessness/ mistakes and help you to take a good hard look at where you are & where you want God to take you.
- Cleaning house & other humbling tasks
Towards the end of Christ’s journey, the Thursday before his death, he washed his followers’ feet. Why did he do this? Because it’s humble as fuck. He didn’t go around thinking he was better than everyone else. He would do menial tasks. Maundy is the name of the dude who’s feet he washed – so you’ll hear Catholics sometimes call the Thursday before Easter, Maundy Thursday. It’s the day of the last supper and when he washed Maundy’s feet.
To echo this, it is typical for Catholics to get on their hands and knees and clean house floor to ceiling during lent. Kids are encouraged to clean their rooms; families volunteer together. You’re not supposed to go around saying “woe is me! I am wearing old clothes and cleaning…I am so devout!” You’re just supposed to keep it to yourself and do some humbling tasks. Bring yourself back down to earth.
These are especially completed on the Thursday before Easter. Try it this Spring – when you have free time, spend it scrubbing your whole house, cleaning your car, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. These humbling tasks remind you of how lucky you are – they put things into perspective.
- Celebrating new life.
After a ton of time spent reflecting – you will feel so WHOLE. And eventually it’s time to get on with life and stop all the extra time spent reflecting. But all of that time, makes celebrating life/spring all the more gratifying. It sets the tone for a year full of intention/mindfulness – it helps you keep things in perspective, stay humble, and focus on OTHERS. That’s what this season it all about!
I hope you guys will consider trying a few of the Catholic traditions to set yourself up for a reflective & magical spring! If you do PLEASE let me know!!
X
ANTIGONE