Happy Ash Wednesday! It has once again reached that special time of the year in a Catholic (or Christian) life where a personal decision has to be made: how will I choose to agonize myself this time around. It is a difficult decision, fraught with temptations to dispose of something simple (such as a single food item) rather than go for the big money by placing a larger bet on the table (giving up every ounce of pleasure the material world can offer you).
As I walked through the coffee shop today with my meat & potato plate in hand, (ignoring the covetous looks of my fellow Catholic peers) I was struck by the unique position my health has positioned me in. Food is a vital aspect of my 'medicine' or treatment plan, which prohibits me from fasting on those required fiscal days (like today) or from abstaining from meat on Fridays. I am also rendered incapable of giving up any sort of tempting food items (like sweets or soda) because I have already been forced remove these from my diet! I have been thinking about this topic more and more frequently as Lent has quietly crept up, but I hadn't reached any definitive conclusions as to just what the correct course of action was.
Then...it hit me. Lent this year isn't going to be about fasting from as many items or addictions as I can think of...(though I'm definitely going to give up facebook...that's a terrible addiction) it's instead going to be directed where it is supposed to be: on Christ. For several years I've tried to add one or two positive actions to my Lenten sacrifice, such as extra rosaries, etc. but I feel that my attitude has still been lacking.
The goal for this Lent is to pump up my life! How am I going to do this? Well I'm so glad you asked! The idea is to truly work to place myself in a healthy place physically, emotionally, and spiritually. While yes, facebook is necessary to keep myself academically healthy (that will be a sacrifice...I'm completely hooked), that is more of a side note to what I am truly attempting. I'm going to dedicate myself to being very on top of my diet/medicines and exercise. Despite how it might seem, I actually feel that this is probably one of the best Lenten decisions I have made over the years. It is a constant struggle to stay on top of my diet rotation, take my meds at the appropriate times, etc. and working out....whole different ballpark. It's really hard! Everyone who has a busy life understands the challenges that a healthy lifestyle poses. As an E.E. individual, it is absolutely essential that I maintain it...and I've done a pretty crappy job at perfecting it (as I need to) to become healthy once again.
So (as long as this has taken) the idea is: healthy lifestyle - but, I'm going to offer up the challenges and struggles with these promises for various intentions...that's where the Lenten part comes in. Stemming from this is an increase in spirituality and prayer life. If your body is sick, it is easy to become caught up in the illness and lose focus on the important things in life (ie - Christ). By working at healing my body, I hope to accompany it by equally healing my spiritual world. It's easy to feel hopeless, and I intend to remedy that in various ways.
Tip of the day: Live this Lent with the goal of being healthy, both physically and spiritually. I bet the rewards will be awesome.
