And unto dust I shall return

[apple_pathways]

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Though I'm a lapsed Catholic and an atheist, I still believe in the ritual of fasting/denial. I think giving something up, denying oneself, focuses the mind and forces you to examine yourself. And so I want to give something up for Lent.

I'm thinking of giving up meat, but I'm not sure if it's entirely practical. (I've given up meat for a week at a time before, but certainly never for 40 days (46 with Sundays) before. Perhaps give up red meat? Or use the christian definition of meat and give up everything but fish? I'm not sure.

Does anyone else plan on denying themselves? Have any tales of fasting to share with me?

Did anyone eat a Pączki today? I forgot to get one. Hmm, perhaps I'll get a discount if I seek one out tomorrow...

Should I give up sweets instead?

Comments

[switchbladesis.livejournal.com]

I looked for Paczki, but I couldn't find any! :( It's one of the things I miss about Chicago.

I have to say, as a Jew in Catholic school, Ash Wednesday resonated with me more than most of the other holidays. But I was also a teenager, so maybe I was predisposed to like the angsty bit.

As to what to give up: what do you want to improve? What do you think you don't pay enough attention to? What will make you more aware of the world/yourself in a different way?

I have friends that refused to buy anything new during lent-or refused to wear more than one outfit (that they washed regularly :P). I know others that gave up the internet-it forced them to realize exactly how they were spending their time. Meat's a good one, but you don't want to do something that's too easy, or too impossible for yourself.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Hmm, wow, everyone already has really good thoughts for how I should decide what to give up!

I probably should give up the internet, but fortunately, I have a good excuse not to! :P (I'm running a spring fanworks festival in one of my comms.) Meat was pretty easy for me to do without for a week, but 46 days? I don't know. Sweets would be good for me...I've definitely been eating too many of those lately. Though I don't know that giving them up will make me more aware of myself and my place in the world!

I like the idea of not buying anything new, though I'd have to have a think about whether or not there's anything I'd need to buy in the new couple months...

Ash Wednesday is awesome for angst. I used to love going to mass to get ashes! As much as I'm not well-suited to religion, I do like ritual, and there are some I miss from my childhood.