Let’s give it up for Lent!

Let’s give it up for Lent!

Ok.. I am sitting here enjoying a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon so I guess I am not giving up red wine for Lent.  Do I really have to give something up?  Why not add something significant.  Why not do something out of my comfort zone.  Something that matters.  Something that makes me uncomfortable or that makes me stray from my neurotic daily routine.

I’ve been toying with the idea of living life with more awareness and intention.  Not multitasking.  Not flitting from here to there.  Not changing the subject mid-conversation.

Living with intention.

So cooking a meal is just cooking a meal.  It’s not talking on the phone and cooking a meal.  It’s not checking my email and cooking.  It’s just cooking.

And reaching for my seat belt after getting into my car is not reaching with one hand and turning on the radio with the other one and checking to see if I have gas and wondering if I need my oil changed.  It’s just reaching for my seat belt.

Calling my step mother and asking how she is doing is not just a task that I can check off my list of things to do but actually a loving and intimate communication with a woman who stepped in and decided to love me and my family even though we aren’t really related.

Are you giving something up for Lent?

Or are you adding something that challenges you, stretches you, makes you stop and think?

 

 

6 Responses »

  1. Once again, I love your sentiments. I just love what you write–so thoughtful, so heartfelt, so real.
    Something that might help with your Lenten endeavor is doing things with the opposite hand, in the opposite direction, or in a different order. Yoga teacher suggested this as a way of being more mindful about what we do.

  2. I am going to spend this Lenten season remembering the times when I am not the best person I can be, when I don’t share the gifts I have been blessed with, when I am not thankful for the little things, and when I place too much emphasis on the “bumps in the road”. I believe Mother Theresa said, When a door closes a window opens, but we gaze longingly at the closed door and fail to see the open window.

  3. Rosemarie – Mindfulness is the word I am using this lent. I so often walk through tasks and aren’t mindful of what I am doing. And let’s not talk about how I do meals – myabe eating mindfully will allow me to enjoy the flavors and feel the fullness.

    One last thing – I loved how you mentioned your step-mother who “stepped in and decided to love me and my family even though we aren’t really related.” I am a step-mom and this is exactly what I did – you said it so perfectly! Thanks!

  4. I love that intention of mindfulness, Sharon. We as busy women often lose sight of doing one thing at a time.. Your “step” children are so fortunate to have a great mom like you! Miss you, my friend, and all the history we have had together.

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