The season of Lent began in 2024 on Valentine's Day. I don't think that made this year's Lent much more meaningful, necessarily, but the idea of heart-shaped ashes on foreheads is fun.
Just in case you don't know there's a "season of Lent," here are a few basics.
Lent has been celebrated by Christians since around 300 CE, and has been most commonly observed as a 40 day time of prayer and repentance before celebrating Easter. New converts used the time to prepare for their baptisms scheduled on Easter. Fasting was and is sometimes a part of the experience. It's still observed today by many believers, conservative and liberal alike. Well, conservatives and liberals don't observe it alike, to be sure.
I've been pondering what Lent (and Easter, too, for that matter) might mean to someone who is not into its supernatural trappings.
Regardless of Lent's connection to stories of Jesus debating Satan in the wilderness, it seems to me that, in general, any time spent focused on spirituality or self-improvement can be a positive thing. Although it is common, choosing something to give up for 40 days and then going back to it seems more like benign self-flagellation. However, choosing something to give up permanently might have a good effect.
I think AA, NA, and other recovery groups have a better idea when they encourage people to make life changes a daily decision. Getting up in the morning and saying "For TODAY..." sounds like a good practice.
It works the same way for positive actions too. A great question to ask is, "What is ONE THING, that I can do TODAY, that, if I did it, I'd be moving closer to my goals?"
Imagine what a 40 day focus on ANYTHING might accomplish! A quick perusal of some self-help articles might lead you to think that 40 days could really do the trick when it comes to making or breaking a habit. I think the articles that state there is no one-size-fits-all trick are more credible. It depends on the habit. It also depends on the person. Either way, INTENTION sure must have a lot to do with it. I bet 40 days would be a good start.
Have you started or broken a habit? How did you succeed/fail? Share thoughts in the comments!
I think you might mean 300 CE. Interesting thoughts. I think that the idea is not so much transformation as preparation by opening space in our overbooked lives for some spiritual work. It's more like spring cleaning. The clutter will certainly return, but taking a time periodically to declutter can be very helpful in controlling it and opens up new possibilities for that space.