Lent

For the third year in a row now, I've decided to observe lent. I think I'm actually starting on time this year, and actually have something workable. I think I've mentioned in past posts on lent that I have a hard time with giving up a food type item because I don't see the spiritual benefit to it (not that it's not there for others, just not for me). The first year I tried to observe lent, I didn't actually wind up giving up what I had intended to give up (an extra hour of sleep) so I didn't really wind up observing it. Last year, I tried to give up watching t.v., thinking I would spend time more wisely, and hopefully more focused on God. That was short lived because all it did was separate me from the community in my apartment (which was rocky at the time anyway, so further separating myself just seemed to make things worse), so then I tried giving up "excess internet time" (things like facebook, and mindlessly clicking through websites. I did manage to give that up, but there were no real positive spiritual results. That brings us to this year. I actually got a head start on it, because I didn't want to wait, and as long as I was in the mood for it, it would be easier than otherwise. This year, I am giving up my novels.

I have a passion for reading, but novel reading in particular. If I could be doing anything I wanted to, I would choose to spend my time with my nose in a good novel. I don't actually do a lot of this, given my schedule, but you get the idea. I have for some time, however, thought of my aversion to reading factual or self-help kinds of books. I know they would be good for me to read. They would help me grow spiritually, and mentally. I know this because I spent the last 3 1/2 years of life reading mostly theological and philosophical books for school (although most of them had to be read too quickly for me to really digest what they said). I had a desire to spend time reading these books, but knew that I would not do it if I did not force myself to stop reading my novels. So here we are, year 3, and I think I might have actually made a commitment to something that will have the effects I am looking for.

So far, I'm really enjoying the books I'm reading, and I don't really miss my novels yet. Some of it I think is because when I get bored of what I am reading, I can put it down and do something else. It's okay to read these books slowly (reading a book quickly is something I sort of pride myself on) and doing so allows me to digest more of what is being said. We'll see how the actual time of lent turns out, but I'm looking forward to it. :)