I dropped my religion a long time ago. Mostly because I've never experienced that easy confidence where you "just know" your faith or whatever is true. I felt like I was actually attempting to brainwash myself into believing something I knew was false. I've never been comfortable with the idea of "my belief is right, therefore you're are wrong". It's so stupid to me. So I decided there's no need for the complicated philosophies and practices in my life. My own faith is very simple. It avoids dogma and theology. It is to love, respect and serve all without judgement. It is to think. It is to experience things both natural and spiritual. It is moderation and humility. It is acceptance. And that's pretty much it so far. There is still so much I don't know, but I don't feel unfulfilled.
However, certain traditions have stuck with me and I will still be sacrificing something for Lent this year. I mean I also continue to celebrate Christmas and Easter with no true regard to my former faith, why not Lent? I actually like Lent more because it requires self discipline (whereas Christmas and Easter are probably the exact opposite of self discipline because most people spend too much money or eat too much food). And 40 days is awesome because if it takes 30 days to make a habit, than 40 must really set it in. JK, the 40 day rule is because of Jesus' fast and he was tempted by Satan and we all know that story... Fun fact, I actually researched the ancient significance of 40 days and why so many biblical prophets referred to it, and it's not interesting at all. It has to do with the solar calendar and we didn't have Leap years back then, so basically early astronomers counted 40 day periods of time, keeping track of the 40th day, for 9 years, then subtracting the 40th days out, and they were accurate by all but like 2 seconds. Superstitious references to it are all over the Bible and other ancient sources (but personally, I like my idea of 40 being one of God's lucky numbers better). Anywho, I'm ranting and its 1218, well past my bedtime, so I'm going to wrap this up.
Lent is a nice challenge because it requires self discipline, and it doesn't hurt anything or anyone.
A list of my 'sacrifices' over the past few years
2010- butter
2009- soda
2008- drugs/alcohol
2007- meat
2006- fried foods
2005- chocolate
As you can see I've almost always given up something rather unhealthy. And this year will be no different. While I know God doesn't exactly care about my Taco Bell addiction, I've decided to give up sacrifice all fast food for Lent this year. I've been really lazy since Brad's deployed and fast food is just so convenient... I've been eating it once or twice a week since he's been gone. Fun bonus- this will also help me combat my favorite deadly sin, Sloth. Since the main reason I eat all that crap is my own laziness, this will force me to get back in the kitchen or starve. Ah well, it is 1230 and I have to get to bed. Sorry for the rambling post, I'm going to blame it on extreme fatigue.
