So yesterday began the period of Lent; the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday in the Christian calendar. All of those people you saw yesterday, March 9, with that black ash on their foreheads, were entrusted from the pulpit to begin the period of finding something to give up. A Web site I subscribe to, www.divorcedcatholic.org, had a very interesting post yesterday which gives us some ideas of what to give up this Lenten period. Here is their Twitter post I want to share:
"Give up harsh words... Use generous ones instead
Give up unhappiness... Take up gratitude
Give up anger... Take up gentleness and patience
Give up pessimism... Take up hope and optimism
Give up worrying... Take up trust in God
Give up complaining... Value what you have
Give up stress... Take up prayer
Give up judging others... Discover Jesus within them
Give up sorrow and bitterness... Fill your heart with joy
Give up selfishness... Take up compassion for others
Give up being unforgiving... Learn reconciliation
Give up words... Fill yourself with silence and listen to others."
Now again, as I posted before, if you are of a different faith or believe in a different "higher power," that it is your decision and yours alone. The point here is, what are we giving up. Having said that, how many of us PWDs have these same issues we face daily with our disease? I'd say, including yours truly, probably a good majority. The priest at yesterday's Mass did have an interesting point. When we are trying to give up something, we often want to give up everything. Well realistically that is too daunting of a task. It's noble, but we land up becoming a martyr in the process. A friend of mine said point blank not to become one in order to be healthy and to take the time during my leave of absence to get healthy. So what is the one thing to focus on during this Lenten season, or for that matter any time? Think about it.