Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely fans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.
--t.s.eliot
Although it is now ash friday, I feel compelled to report on the recent passage of the Wednesday in question, that being "ash" Wednesday. My mother used to tell us when we were little and compelled to give up things we really didn't want anyway, like lima beans, or bathing, that one day we might be called to a higher form of Lenten activities, such as Taking Something On. First, I should admit that I have never made it through Lent without cheating. Ever. Also, I don't really think of myself as a Christian--more like a Buddhist, but sometimes Jewish, or even Muslim. The word "syncretism" was made just for me. A friend once told me,"You don't really KNOW Jesus do you?" It really hurt my feelings, but I admit, I do not, even though I once wrote a short story where He showed up as a really hip pizza delivery guy.
I took on a spiritual practice for Lent. Meditation. I also took on one carbon-offsetting activity per week--riding my bike to work--because I received an email that asked me to do it, so I did. I receive all sorts of emails asking me to do things. I don't. Not usually. But I liked the idea of mixing up religion with something as complex and imminent as the destruction of the planet via emissions. I think Jesus would approve, and would probably be biking to work right now if He were here. (Would we still HAVE Lent if Jesus were here?)
My grandmother still gives up chocolate for Lent. It's the Big One for Episcopalians, who I think of as an elite class of consumers who truly suffer through the giving up of chocolate. That's why God gave us Easter.
I don't think there's much difference at heart in the tradition of Lent, and other abstaining traditions such as 40-day Sadhanas, or Ramadan. It's a time of year intended to do far more for us than I think we can gain from just giving up chocolate, "Prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability" are a few (can you cite Wikipedia without a reference note?), and sometimes just holding still, just for a moment.
