“Welcome, dear feast of Lent,” wrote George Herbert in a poem on the subject. Of course, it is not a feast but a fast. But I know what Herbert means. Lent, even when celebrated by fasting, gives us lots to feast upon.
I love Lent, which begins today. I get so tired of my constant self-indulgence. It really is a form of bondage. I find Lent strangely liberating. I don’t do any grand renunciations or meritorious deeds. Maybe I can work up to those some year. Right now I just watch what I eat and exercise. All I do is live more healthily than I usually do. I can do that for 46 days. And usually I can carry over a few good habits into the rest of the year. But saying “no” to myself–not eating the empty carbs even though I’m hungry; keep walking even though my muscles start to ache–is good for me on many levels.
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