Sitting here, almost at the end of Lent and realizing that my choice of "giving up facebook" was an epic fail, I remember the words of wisdom our pastor spoke at a sermon years ago. Father Jim gave a sermon about Lent, talking about how so many people take this time to "give up" a bad habit, like smoking or drinking alcohol. He argued that we shouldn't use this time to just give up something we shouldn't be doing anyhow. He also asked what was the point of giving up, let's say, smoking for 40 days, if you planned to just go back to it. If we really are going to give up a bad habit, we should just do it - don't wait for Lent. Father Jim continued by saying we should use the time to "do more good" and think about how to make the world a better place - rather than taking something away, give something back; rather than depriving ourselves of something, we should add something positive to our lives and/or the lives of others.
One of his suggestions was to give thanks to someone each day - be it the grocery store clerk or a former teacher. That year, I did a Google search and wrote letters to two of my former high school teachers, thanking them for their support and inspiration during my nightmarish high school years. I heard back from one of them - and what a wonderful letter that was! :) Another year, I made sure to volunteer at least once a week - be it at my children's schools or passing out lunches to the homeless. Anyone who has spent time volunteering knows the joy it can bring.
Those are more meaningful than the old standbys of "give up (fill in the blank)" for Lent. Or at least, I believe so. And I thank Father Jim for those experiences. I understood what he meant. The idea was to focus more on, as Ken Collins' wrote on his website, "soul-searching and repentance...a season for reflection and taking stock...when the faithful rededicate themselves." Yes, it can be done by taking something away - fasting, so to speak - but it can also be done by doing something positive.
So, the year I volunteered to "give back," I also gave up Diet Coke. My idea was to do something hand-in-hand: trade something negative for something positive. And in doing both of those things, I was hopefully setting up a habit. I'm proud to say that I hardly ever drink Diet Coke now - maybe just when we go out to eat; I don't purchase it by the case any longer. I also regularly volunteer at different agencies.
Sadly, I forgot about that lesson this year and simply said, "Give up Facebook." I focused on the negative, rather than the positive this year. And it was an epic fail. I focused on trying NOT to log onto facebook. I was never focusing on something positive at the same time.
So, even though we are at the end of Lent, I decided to make a mid-game change: I should do some sort of cardio exercise every single day - even if just for 10-15 minutes. And while I may not have given up facebook 100%, I did successfully give up Farmtown 100%. I plan to not return to my "Stupid-town" - no matter what new items they try to tempt me with, no matter how much FarmCash I may actually have. And hopefully, this cardio thing will also become a new habit.
There may just be two weeks left, but I hope to keep it going for longer. Either way, I'm glad I remembered it is not always all about NOT doing something; it should also be about DOING SOMETHING.
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