We have just entered the season of Lent. It begs a question. Must one be a Christian in order to benefit from some of its spiritual traditions and practices? The answer has to be: of course not. Many Christian traditions are offshoots from much earlier traditions that were adopted by Christianity and thus hold value beyond the religion itself. Many religious practices and celebrations have genealogies that extend back to our earliest humanity, so they must resonate with us as humans in the broad sense, not just as practitioners of a particular faith system. One need not even believe in God in order to make good and practical use of them.
Lent is a roughly six-week period of time beginning on the occasion of Ash Wednesday, which occurs sometime between mid-February to early-March, and ends just before Easter. It is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert enduring hunger and temptation by Satan, prior to beginning his public ministry.
The word lent is a shortened form of the Old English word lencten, meaning "spring season." And while many of us do not subscribe to the lenten story of Jesus' temptation in the desert in a literal way, there is still something of great spiritual value in examining the tradition and what it represents.
The season of Lent is an observance of renewal and reflection. It is a preparation for the spring. Baptism is a ritual of purification much older than Christianity. It's not specifically about the purification of sin, however, but also of sorrow. Baptism is primarily a cleansing of despair. It is a sweeping away of the weight of our past mistakes, losses, burdens, and resentments. The stuff we don't realize we're carrying around voluntarily. Let it go.
Considering this, Jesus' baptism prior to his 40-day ordeal, which itself was a preparation for public ministry, becomes a preparation for the preparation. One might meditate upon the spiritual elegance of ritually cleansing oneself of sorrow before embarking upon a spiritual journey meant to prepare ourselves for something significant but still unknown. It's like taking a bath before an interview for a job you don't yet know about, but intuitively perceive will be important. It is a deliberate act of mentally preparing for and faithfully opening yourself up to the unknown.
For those of any faith considering observing Lent for the purpose of personal spiritual growth, consider ways in which you could allot yourself a certain amount of time every day for quiet and personal reflection. Even just a few minutes, but be committed to it on the level of a promise. Also, consider anything in your life that you might be willing to give up for a little while in order to create more of this time. Consider looking at your regular activities which require a lot of mental real estate but might be willing to wait a few weeks in the background.
Some people give up chocolate for lent. And if you the kind of person who spends a couple of hours every day on the hunt for or the manufacturing of your daily chocolate intake, it's an excellent choice. Most people, however, don't put that much effort into their chocolate consumption. But if it truly consumes your thoughts and takes up time that might otherwise be spent in reflection, definitely give up chocolate for Lent. And perhaps longer.
The task of Lent isn't necessarily to give up something that you love, but rather something that takes up time in order to create more space for just being quiet. We should consider at least temporarily giving up those things which distract us from introspection. We should give up some of the things which give us stress or cause us anxiety. We should temporarily put on hold our busy-ness. Give your inner voice some airtime. Allow a touch of boredom to creep in on purpose.
Lent is the observance of allowing stillness to occur on a daily basis for a deliberate period of time. If you're brave enough to try it, notice when you resist continuing it. Notice when you feel like quitting. Because that's when you're starting to get somewhere, and a little part of you doesn't like it. Don't be tempted by it.
Move through the resistance you feel. Move beyond the temptation to fall back into old patterns of behavior during this time. That is how you know it's working. Jesus' temptation during his 40-day trial was all about this. And the advice is for us all.