Lent

[IorekByrnison]

So I've been thinking about Lent and feeling a little dissatisfied with the secular version of Lenten Observances that you see about the place, ie using the 40 days to break a habit, usually with the ultimate aim of being thinner/healthier/richer etc at the end of it.

Would love to hear what Lent (or any other fast for that matter) means to other people, what everyone is planning to do or not do between Pancake Day and Easter, and why.

Ruty - I am very sorry to hear about your father - that sounds very worrying. Why don't we plan a few hours of doing something nice. Perhaps a walk across Hampstead Heath (with children) and then a pizza lunch? Or something similar?

that sounds lovely. Tho it will be hard to get to London at present, have to go into ICU every day. If he gets better over the next few weeks though, I'd love to.

Iorek - "freeing ourselves from the compulsions that tend to drive us in our daily lives, in order that we might live more consciously and act with clearer sight". That's exactly what Lent is meant to be about from a religious point of view as well, though probably with something in there about "in order to get closer to God".

That's meant to be the purpose of either fasting or taking up an activity - to stop ourselves from our normal routine of focussing on day to day life and get us to think about what is really important.

Swedes, I don't know yet, but I'm trying to avoid the most predictable and depressing outcome which is that I make a resolution to do or not do x, y, z and forget about it by week 2.

I am very impressed by all the ideas on this thread. I think the compulsion thing might be what I should focus on, but I need to find a way in to it.

ruty, thanks for your nice message on the other thread - it cheered me up immensely. I do hope your dad makes a good recovery. The Spa Angst was born out of the combined genius of threadie, onebat and swedes here but is just now a nice quiet spot for wankers like-minded souls to pass the time in idle chat.

Iorek, we go vegan on Fridays in Lent and also in Holy Week- less as personal mortification than as a commitment to planet management/less wasteful living. I quite like it; it's a culinary challenge to make something ds and dd will eat.

Generally, though, I try to be yielding in Lent - if someone makes a demand on me I think is unfair, I accept it meekly and cheerfully; if someone accuses me of something I don't plead not guilty, if someone is unjust I don't point it out. I give up having my own way.

I also say the Angelus 3 times a day. I'd find the desert too blissfully silent, so that's out - instead I try to bear the noises that drive me mad wihtout complaint, even inner complaint. Of course, all this is as often as not a failure.

Ruty ,will think of you and say a prayer.

threadie your post deleted but agthered you are down so hugs also.
I'm trying to think of something ATM, as are my boys.

Am having a multipronged Lent:

• to try and put a positive loving slant on all annoyances and look for the good

• to try and stop wasting food in the family

• DH has decided to save carbon for lent and spent his 'fun' fund on a small smart car so the MPV can stay home when not needed for a mass all 6 of us trip (he does 100miles a day for work dso a big difference)

• Stop swering:thsi will be the bit that focuses my mind

Like the garden idea-migt throw that in

Thankyou peachy and ruty. ruty I am very sorry your dad is so ill.

pancakes in spa angst would be good. I will try to check there later.

There are some great ideas here!
I'm giving up facebook for Lent based on the idea from the pp (and hopefully that will convince me to never go back to it!)
There is a good Lenten calendar here - apologies for the Pope pics if you are not Catholic! and this might be a good one if you want to do something with the children.
The 'Carbon fast' mentioned in pp looks very interesting...

I love the Angelus, that's lovely

I need a Lenten iphone application ....

I am giving up cheese because I eat it all bloody day and it will provide a bit of temptation for me to resist - gave up alcohol for January but it makes me so irritable and unpleasant that I won't do it for Lent

Iorek - freeing myself from compulsions is definitely something I should try to do as well... One thing I've tried in the past is to pick a compulsion I want to get rid of and every time I'm tempted to do it try to say a short prayer instead. Must admit I'm not HUGELY successful but I will start again tomorrow
Ruty I will say some prayers for you and your dad.
Threadworm - you need not have had your post deleted - I think we all feel a bit like that sometimes and it's good to share it!

I am giving up chocolate for Lent purely because I feel it will be good for me to deny myself something & focus on my relationship with God. It's because I want to revisit my faith and what it means in my life. Someone said to me Lent is God's springtime - I like that, it's a time for renewal
btw mersmam Congratulations

Thanks for all the nice messages about my dad. He's having a truly terrible time and it it really makes me appreciate coming home to dcs and dh and puts the good things into sharp focus.

Ah! I remember that original thread about Nietzsche Iorek! Was going to post on it but heavily pregnant and brain dead - how smug Nietzsche would feel...Will look out for Spa Angst though, excellent idea.

interesting reading all these ideas for Lent. Of course we may have to do them all permanently when the Depression comes....

Why does that calendat go from the 11th to 16th I wonder? lovely otherwise though.

this is another nice Lenten calendar... I think this is the one i'll use with my family!

that's great mersmum I have printed that out

mersmam I like that

Thankyou mersmam that looks good Have just been out for pancakes at the coffee shop so I'm all ready

Very curious - what was the thread about Nietzsche, and feeling smug?

Ruty - sorry to hear about your dad.

I don't think I am Christian any more but I am going to try and think positive during Lent. It has two pieces: one, the reactive piece, which is to brush away negative or judgemental thoughts when they come; and the other is the active piece, to make some time every day to think good things and count blessings.

This may not be in the spirit of Lent as it will I hope make me feel better and I don't know if you are supposed to enjoy things in Lent. I hope this is not offensive. I miss the church calendar although I can't participate in it wholeheartedly.

Vezzie it was a very interesting thread about this comment - "The literary woman, unsatisfied, agitated, desolate in heart and entrails, listening every minute with painful curiosity to the imperative which whispers from the depths of her organism "aut liberi aut libri [either children or books]."

• which quickly degenerated into a discussion of how pubic topiary might be themed according to the facial hair of the great philosophers.

That sounds great. I will have to search for it.

I have long chuckled over the N. aphorism, "when a woman turns to philosophy there is something wrong with her reproductive organs" and it has only just occurred to me that maybe that is why I was so surprised when I got pg so quickly!

Nietzsche's own version of the argument from inconceivability.

I don't think his reproductive organs were up to much were they?

What did he mean by it, exactly? That intellectual creativity in a woman had to be a displacement of her proper focus on creating life? Or what? Funny bloke.

I've given up alcohol...which is going to be difficult for me...and will donate the money I would've spent on it to charity.

To keep going until Easter I'll have to find a good substitute - am currently sipping some non-alcoholic wine left over from Christmas which is quite sweet. Any thoughts on substitutes to help my resolve would be most welcome.

The Lenten calendar link is excellent too - I will try to take up at least some of the ideas from that, and involve the dc.