How Will You Spend Your 40 Days in the Desert?
We are entering into our time in the desert. We don’t go to an actual desert. We create a desert in the midst of our lives. The forty days of Lent is an ancient practice (older than Christianity) of fasting and preparing to go deeper within ourselves. It is a time of reorientation and transformation.
Traditional practices include service, almsgiving and fasting. Why fasting? Fasting is a way of practicing detachment, letting go and opening oneself to the transcendant or the sacred.
Fasting is also a way to be in solidarity with those who are hungry (two thirds of the world). Ideally, we take the money we would have spent on richer fare and donate it to those who are hungry.
Once a year it is good to stop, reflect and resist meeting every desire. Going deeper helps me to see new patterns, make changes and listen to God or my deepest interior voice. There are many ways to go deeper. Here are some suggestions I wrote with a colleague a few years ago.
1. Turn off the radio or car radio. Get used to silence.
2. Commit to praying or meditating for peace each day.
3. Keep a daily gratitude journal.
4. Fast from overwork and busyness during Lent.
5. Fast from consumerism. Check out the true income disparity between the top fifth and bottom fifth in the U.S. Scroll to the graph at the bottom.
6. Use less water. Recycle more.
7. Carpool, take a bus, ride a bike, or walk at least once a week.
8. Shop at more socially responsible stores. Find out which ones.
9. Fast from TV and video games – read, meditate or walk instead.
10. Fast from impatience – at home, while driving, at school, at work, in political discussions.
11. Fast from interrupting – commit to really listening in order to understand others.
12. Fast from a favorite luxury (e.g., drink water instead of coffee or soda). Donate what you save to a cause of your choice.
13. Fast from judgments about people who don’t always have enough.
14. Go to: www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm to learn what our government considers poverty level and how hard it is for some families to make ends meet.
15. Read Nickeled and Dimed, the true story of a woman who tried to live on a minimum wage job at Wal-Mart in the Twin Cities.
16. Learn more about why many people can’t afford market-rate housing. Go to: www.micah.org (click on fact sheets) or www.dakotacda.org (click on market survey).
17. Watch the movie Chocolat and reflect on ways we exclude people.
18. Take a concrete step to fight racism or another form of discrimination. Check these links to learn how.
19. Shovel snow or fix a meal for someone who could use extra help.
20. Perform random acts of kindness in your family, at work or school.
21. Cheerfully share something of value (time, possessions) or give to someone in need, anonymously.
22. Over 800 million people in the world go hungry each day. Nearly 6 million children a year die from hunger. Take part in Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters or go to: www.bread.org for ways to help.
23. Of course, you could read my book Living a Luxury Life and learn about many ways to add depth to your life.
24. Finally, fast from any habit or activity that keeps you from being your most authentic self – the person you want to be.
25. Add your own item in the comments here.
Peace to you as you journey this Lent.
Roxanne
You may also like The Great Liturgy Begins, Walk Out of the Tomb, and Visio Divina Reflection.
