Embracing the Lenten Fast

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent in the Christian tradition.

Yesterday, I was busy mixing the batter, flipping the pancakes and enjoying the sweet sugary taste with notes of melted butter and tart lemon. Shrove Tuesday is a feast day, a chance to use up eggs and fats before the start of the 40 day fast. I’m sure many of you were doing the same thing.

But how many, I wonder, will then embrace the spiritual discipline of fasting until Easter Sunday?

Most often, I hear of people give up chocolate for Lent. A worthy goal. It embraces the idea of denying yourself as well as being a healthy option. But there are many different fasts you can choose, not just chocolate.

This year, I have decided to fast by not playing computer games. For many of you, this would be an easy thing to do. You have never seen the point, preferring to do other things instead. Unfortunately, for me, computer games have become a form of procrastination. Instead of being a light relief from the stresses of writing, or a chance to sit and rest my back when it starts to hurt, they have taken up a much larger bulk of my time. So, yesterday I played my last game of Solitaire, turned my final Freecell card, put away my Mah-jong tiles and bid farewell to Matchtown Makeover.

Today, I am feeling a bit lost.

It doesn't help that I am in a kind of hiatus with my writing. I have just published The Last Mage, ending the series I began last year. I have gone through all the comments made by my beta readers for Mage Wars.* No I need to put it aside for a few weeks, so that when I return to it for a big edit, I will look at it with fresh eyes.

My current WIP is being looked at by my writer’s circle and my lovely friend, Becky, chapter by chapter, so the process is slower but more detailed. It means I have to wait for a while before receiving their feedback.

So, I find myself sitting in front of my computer not knowing what to do. Hence the games.

By fasting from them, I suddenly have lots of free minutes and more time for other things.

If any of you have ever fasted from food for any length of time, you know how much time we spend thinking about, preparing, eating, and clearing up after meals. The idea in Lent is that you use this extra time to focus on your spiritual life instead of being constantly distracted with worldly desires. I will certainly do that and have made plans to study and pray more, but there are other things that I can also focus on.

Like The list.

I am a list maker. I like seeing big ticks beside completed tasks, and it has the added advantage of lifting my mood.

Unfortunately, my lists have been largely forgotten along with mundane tasks like hoovering and dusting. My procrastination leaches in to my home too. Interestingly, I have noticed a direct correlation between a messy house and a messy mind. I think more clearly when I am not surrounded by clutter. I feel lighter if my surfaces are clear and everything is in its right place.

On my list, which also ties in to my goals for the year, is a whirlwind tour of the rooms in my house, clearing away, decluttering and cleaning.

Also on the list are a number of jobs that I have been meaning to do for months, but never got around to. This includes things like, sewing up the pocket of my coat so my gloves don’t fall out, unearthing my son’s dedication outfit to pass down to my granddaughter, and replacing the broken hook on the curtain rail in my study.

I know that as each room is ticked off, my energy levels will increase, my mind will be more focussed, and my creativity will spark once more. It is altogether a good thing to do.

You may not have a faith like me, but you can still take the principles and look at your own life. What dominates your thinking? Is there a bad habit you would like to kick to the kerb? Have you got into a rut and want to break free? Embrace the Lenten fast and use it to improve yourself and the world around you.

I’m hoping that, when Easter Sunday arrives, I won’t be rushing back to those old distractions, but will have formed new, healthier habits that will stay with me for the rest of the year.

So, what are you giving up for Lent?

*Mage Wars will be published in the autumn 2023.