I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, where giving up something for lent is a very common practice. Not only do people go to mass on ash Wednesday, most households prepare "Habichuelas con Dulce" or sweet beans, as a celebratory tradition.
Just as the Sunday before, for "Domingo de Ramos" they make crosses out of green palm leaves.
Nonetheless, I have never honored the tradition of given anything up for lent.
I might have tried as a child, I honestly don't remember, but never as an adult.
Last night, however, as I read an article on the Boston Globe Magazine, I was inspired to try it out this year. The author argued that as a culture, we need something like lent to ground us, and that it shouldn't' t be reserved to catholics. The yogi in me actually agreed, and I started thinking about what I would choose to give up for 40 days.
So I started debating in my mind what it should be. I immediately ruled out anything food. Food is my passion. I breathe it. I'm a cook and I believe in real food and it's nourishing properties too much to even consider giving any of it up. So I kept thinking about it, trying to find something else.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the reason why I had never given anything up is because I didn't really believe in depriving yourself of something that makes you happy. We deserve to be happy.
As my husband said to me " Why would you give up one of the pleasures of life?".
Life is meant to be lived, and the many pleasures of life, big and small, are what make it worth living, so giving something that makes me smile up, is just not my cup of tea.
As I looked in the mirror while I washed my hands this morning it struck me: I should give up something that doesn't do me any good, or anyone around me for that matter.
And so I came up with it. For the 40 days starting on Wednesday, February 17th 2010, I will not say anything negative about anyone.
Not about a coworker, a family member or a friend. Not about my husband, our cat or about myself. Not about a stranger, a patron, an acquaintance.
I consider myself a decent person, even nice, but just as anyone else out there, I complain about people, and every so often say not so nice things about them.
Well, what if I didn't? What if in my path to be a less judgmental individual I actually go a step
further and keep to myself any negative comment I would normally make about anyone else?
I just might come out of it with a little more peace. And I might spread a little more positive energy into those around me.
One might argue, that because talking negatively about others is not necessarily something I enjoy, then it defeats the purpose of lent. I disagree. I will have to actively retrain myself to act and not react.
I will have to practice mind and body awareness at a different level than I do now. This exercise will teach me to respect others in a completely different way, and it might just teach me to look at the world in a completely different way as well.
So that's that. I'm giving lent a try. Wish me luck!
Just as the Sunday before, for "Domingo de Ramos" they make crosses out of green palm leaves.
Nonetheless, I have never honored the tradition of given anything up for lent.
I might have tried as a child, I honestly don't remember, but never as an adult.
Last night, however, as I read an article on the Boston Globe Magazine, I was inspired to try it out this year. The author argued that as a culture, we need something like lent to ground us, and that it shouldn't' t be reserved to catholics. The yogi in me actually agreed, and I started thinking about what I would choose to give up for 40 days.
So I started debating in my mind what it should be. I immediately ruled out anything food. Food is my passion. I breathe it. I'm a cook and I believe in real food and it's nourishing properties too much to even consider giving any of it up. So I kept thinking about it, trying to find something else.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the reason why I had never given anything up is because I didn't really believe in depriving yourself of something that makes you happy. We deserve to be happy.
As my husband said to me " Why would you give up one of the pleasures of life?".
Life is meant to be lived, and the many pleasures of life, big and small, are what make it worth living, so giving something that makes me smile up, is just not my cup of tea.
As I looked in the mirror while I washed my hands this morning it struck me: I should give up something that doesn't do me any good, or anyone around me for that matter.
And so I came up with it. For the 40 days starting on Wednesday, February 17th 2010, I will not say anything negative about anyone.
Not about a coworker, a family member or a friend. Not about my husband, our cat or about myself. Not about a stranger, a patron, an acquaintance.
I consider myself a decent person, even nice, but just as anyone else out there, I complain about people, and every so often say not so nice things about them.
Well, what if I didn't? What if in my path to be a less judgmental individual I actually go a step
further and keep to myself any negative comment I would normally make about anyone else?
I just might come out of it with a little more peace. And I might spread a little more positive energy into those around me.
One might argue, that because talking negatively about others is not necessarily something I enjoy, then it defeats the purpose of lent. I disagree. I will have to actively retrain myself to act and not react.
I will have to practice mind and body awareness at a different level than I do now. This exercise will teach me to respect others in a completely different way, and it might just teach me to look at the world in a completely different way as well.
So that's that. I'm giving lent a try. Wish me luck!
