The Conscious Breeze: Indulgent abstinence

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Indulgent abstinence

Fast or feast, feed or forgo temptation - to indulge or not to indulge. Yesterday it was Shrove Tuesday, even though I was out for a meal with some lovely ladies, I still indulged in 2 pancakes before I went out! Which isn't that many considering hubby enjoyed at least 5. Now I'm a traditionalist, loving lemon & sugar but dear heart hubs he enjoys Maple Syrup too. What a treat & thoroughly enjoyed. Today its Ash Wednesday, a time commencing Easter, the first day, the beginning of Lent. Usually known as 40 days, (but thats not including the Sundays, so Lent technically is 46 days in total) Concluding on 'Holy Saturday'. Lent has always seemed religious, and as I'm not religious (which doesn't mean I haven't Christian values) it isn't something I've ever participated in. But from what I understand, Lent is a time of sacrifice, a time for Spiritual discipline, moderation, penance and repentance .. perhaps a time to consider the higher realms, to free our Souls' for prayer as opposed to being slaves to illusions, desire & emotions. For some I've read, its time for Almsgiving - a religious rite when alms are given as charity for the poor, giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue .. voluntary contributions. Almsgiving can be found throughout many religions, based upon a number of teachings but all basically instil the highest realms of kindness, virtue & supposedly a practice of the highest form of giving 0 to help a person to help themselves & become self supporting. Wealth can be truly found in acts of kindness & conscious thinking. We have so much yet seem to share so little in the modern way our lives are lived. So, abstinence . .meat, dairy, eggs were once the products forbidden but nowadays it seems far more relaxed. I've never practised abstinence before, but for whatever reasons, this year, for the very first time, I feel the need to. The closest I've ever been to knowing anything about Lent was many years ago, when our daughter was in Primary School, her then best friend declared "I'm giving up Sweeties for Lent" . Wow, admirable, this wee girl could really demolish a huge bag of sweeties daily!! Bless, our daughter then announced she too would give up sweeties. Hmmm, as she didn't eat them anyway, her feat was no mean feat at all & thus none of us endured the challenge. Last year a neighbour, a young guy in his early 20's said he was giving up Chocolate & Lager for Lent. This year, whether I'm religiously inclined or not I feel I should experience Lent, the sacrifice, the stamina, the determination - its just so indulgent & quite obscene to dislike having to give up our luxuries .. I mean my day without my mocha coffee, my home-made cake or cookie, my seductive piece of chocolate . . our delicious Roasts. Hmmmmm to give it up for 40 days when there are starving people in the world, who have no such luxuries to give up. To endure their hardships on a daily basis. I am ashamed I have such little discipline & tolerance, my stamina weak in comparison to their survival skills & humble needs. As I commence into the realms of Lent. I hereby, as the written font as my witness, address my instinctual needs and transform any issues into positive outcomes. My sacrifices will be on many level. The giving up of food products will be meat, coffee & chocolate!! As its my first time, maybe next year I shall add wheat! :)
The history of Lent, the suffering, the transformations, the endurance - the struggle of Jesus in the wilderness . . all symbolically are such valuable lesson to learn from. As we all face what ever controls our life, what ever is it which drives us just that little bit too much. Basic human instinct, security & needs . . maybe Lent could be a time when our unconscious unresolved conflicts may surface. We are so used to being 'comfortably satisfied' To rely upon the power within . . realisation of the Spirit, the Soul .. the appreciation of the sacredness of life & all we share.