Lent

nightshade

nightshade

Your grandfather is a cat
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Myheadsgonenumb said:
I'm not even one day into lent - and I'm already thinking I could do with a biscuit to dunk into what is a very sad and biscuitless cup of tea. It's gonna be a looong time until Easter.
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Inspired by this, have you given up anything for Lent?

I've gone with fizzy drinks and alcohol.
 
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nightshade said:
Inspired by this, have you given up anything for Lent?

I've gone with fizzy drinks and alcohol.
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Er well I'm not giving up my baileys 😱 😜
Hmmm I'll have to think about that one for a bit seen as my birthday is coming up i'll probably come back to this after Friday lol - not the way it should be done I know!
 
As per the quote I've given up biscuits but also anything sweet or chocolatey. I still have Christmas chocolate left over - I've had to stash it away in a cupboard. I'm not even Christian, there is no good reason for me to be committing this act of masochism ... still, it's probably good for me. Or something... though I am now thinking of buying a whole load of peanuts and cashews and maybe some of those fancy vegetable crisps ... so if it was a losing weight thing, I'm doomed to failure.
 
I'm Catholic (Convent Grammar school - the lot) and I gave up Lent for Lent years ago. I'm happy to say it's one of the few things I've never lapsed in. I'm pretty sure that if I'm forewarned of death I can nip into the nearest confessional box and my sin will be forgiven. I could be wrong so it's not a plan I'm wedded to. All my family are Catholic and while they'll demand Pancakes and Easter Eggs no-on ever mentions the bit in between.
 
I think it's a good thing to try to make a change in your life, coming into spring, lighter days, giving up maybe something you overindulged on during the winter.
 
I'm finding it easier today - I think yesterday was just a shock to my system. And the weather today was nice enough to inveigle me to go outside for no particular reason - it feels like a good time to be changing things up.
 
There's a bottle of Baileys on top of my fridge, that the Buffies AKA @Nix is making me very tempted to have.

We're having the Buffies before Lent next year!
 
I eat a perpetual 800 cal, low carb, no sugar, vegetarian diet, don't eat out, and haven't bought anything for myself since the 90s. I think I've given up enough. Swearing and tea will still be on my menu. Instead, I'm following my old priest's advice and accepting something this year. I can do something for Lent by being active rather than simply practicing self-denial.
 
At the end of a lot of consideration I'm not giving up anything for Lent either, because there isn't anything that will have a particular impact on me in terms of abstaining from it. There's no food or drink I find it difficult to abstain from. Last year I did fast from chips and the soy milk I put in my coffee, but lost so much weight that even my priest was like - please, stop! So, I guess those are the staples of my diet!
I considered giving up buying books, but, when you ordered like seven books right before Lent, that felt kind of like a cheat.

Instead I'm giving more time to reading my Bible, studying its philosophical implications, and I'm giving more time to my charity assignments
 
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Taake said:
At the end of a lot of consideration I'm not giving up anything for Lent either, because there isn't anything that will have a particular impact on me in terms of abstaining from it. There's no food or drink I find it difficult to abstain from. Last year I did fast from chips and the soy milk I put in my coffee, but lost so much weight that even my priest was like - please, stop! So, I guess those are the staples of my diet!
I considered giving up buying books, but, when you ordered like seven books right before Lent, that felt kind of like a cheat.

Instead I'm giving more time to reading my Bible, studying its philosophical implications, and I'm giving more time to my charity assignments
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Keep up the Bible readings - there is so much of our modern culture that is rooted in the Bible that a lot of what we do, say and write originated there so that even if you don't believe a word of it, the study is valuable. I have read the entire Bible, both the King James Version and the New International Version that mostly agree except in Revelations 13: 9-10. The other thing to watch for is, the Bible doesn't say what people tell you it says. Matthew 17:9-13 can be construed as support for reincarnation, as can John 3:3. Keep an open mind (the opposite of what most religions tell you to do) and you will find some gems in all the verbiage.
 
I was listening to something the other day, and the guy said that it's our choice to be annoyed with people. What annoys one person might not another, so it's up to us if we allow those actions to annoy us.

I'm going to try to work on this, I'll be honest I don't think I'll be very successful at it, but I'm going to give it a try.
 
Taake
Taake
Big in Stoicism, and a very good practice
Think enough has been taken away without voluntarily giving stuff up.
 
The Bronze said:
Think enough has been taken away without voluntarily giving stuff up.
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Fun fact, the word "Quarantine" is from a ancient Lenten practice of excluding sinners from the congregation for the forty six days of Quadragesima as part of their penance. In other words, Lent is mandatory this year. 🙂
 
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I'd give up church. 😛

Though in all seriousness, I participated in the Pascha cycle (Russian Orthodox, which I'll have to say is distinct from the other Eastern Orthodox given how much liquor was at the Pascha feast, how drunk the priest got, and how I was encouraged to drink alcohol despite my age and got really buzzed myself) when I was 17 and have fond memories of it. It was part of a "school project" (I was unschooling then, a type of homeschooling) and I got the permission of the priest before doing so (introduced to me by a former nun who had encouraged me to go through with this).

It was fascinating and fun, though perhaps I shouldn't share all of it. Ironically I ate more communion bread than anyone else though I wasn't supposed to eat any (but what was I to do when several friendly members sneak me some bread?), though other than that, many were surprised I managed the entire fasting cycle since so many Americans can't on their first try. (It's very much worth it when the feast finally begins!)

Even as a non-Christian it was a fun and fascinating project. Especially after days of increased fasting coupled with standing and chanting for hours on end even made the colorful icons around me (with incense smoke in the air) seem to come alive to me, like windows opening into Heaven, and there was this surreal feeling that as Jesus rises from the grave, so, too, does the Earth wake up...to this day I wonder how the pagans and Siberian shamans may have influenced the Pascha celebration of the Russian Orthodox.
 
So yeah, this giving up on getting annoyed with people, not going well!
 
I try to give up something for Lent but end up forgetting and figure God understands as I’m only human😉
 
Crossbow said:
I try to give up something for Lent but end up forgetting and figure God understands as I’m only human😉
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Maybe give up on something easier, doesn't have to be food, can be something like give up not making the bed each morning. After Lent it could in theory have become a routine that you make the bed each morning.
I'm just giving an example, I've no idea if you make your bed or not!
 
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