So every year I have to temper myself from this grand idea of giving up something grand for the occasion. I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest adherent to the letter of organized religion. In my ideal world, I’d attend the best church ever and every message would resonate within my spirit. I would follow every commandment, have no impure thoughts and all would be right in the world. But the reality is that life is a series of very complicated choices, and it is a struggle to retain a Christ-like attitude toward everything and everyone.
I cheated a bit and this Lent season. I’m repeating the concept of reducing the extraneous noise of life that, in many ways, defines my life: social media. For many, this is a fun way to connect with friends, family and the personalities they connect with, be they actors, musicians, thinkers and doers and those in their chosen field. Through reading personal and professional accounts of people I follow, social media has become as ubiquitous as eating and sleeping. Their phones or iPads are constantly by their sides from the moment they wake up. And Heaven forbid that facebook or twitter be down, whatever will they do with those 30 minutes of being disconnected from “life.” I don’t intend this to be a judgement but a review of the things that I hold important in my life. Will I allow myself to be that person who “has” to check twitter before I even wash my face and brush my teeth? Will I be that person that cannot enjoy the moment because I’m already thinking of how I want to present this in a Facebook post later?
For this reason, what better time to step away than in the season of Lent? I had a great text conversation with my boyfriend about what we were giving up between now and Easter and, more importantly, what we were gaining from the sacrifice. For him, he is regaining a focus on his health and wellness by focusing on healthy eating and exercise. He ultimately wants to train people, imparting his knowledge to transform their physical and mental wellbeing.
In our conversation, he told me that Lent relates to the period in which Jesus wanders the desert, being tempted by the Devil prior to beginning his ministries. Believers use this time to grow spiritually, and I believe that the time that I’ve dedicated to chatting and various gossip and fashion sites can be more beneficial when spent focused on my relationship with God. Not sure if this means that I will become the lead tambourine woman in the Sunday choir but it surely will bring me more peace of mind in the long run. And who knows, I may keep it going after I don my tangerine dream skirt suit on Easter Sunday!