Today marks the start of the Lenten Season. Lent is the 40-day penitential preparation of Christ believers - through prayer, penance, and self-denial - to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Fasting and abstinence are widely observed during this time of the year.
A friend texted me some insights on fasting: "We who are beginning the season of Lent must consider why this fast is kept for 40 days. We become sacrificial victims, like Christ who is in fact put to death, and yet lives. A pleasure-loving body has drawn us to sin and fasting for 40 days is similar to dying without leaving this life and slaying in us our carnal desires. We look forward to Lent as a means to unite again with Christ - to open our hearts as the Lord of all creation desires to come to us."
Pretty intense and I am becoming preachy. Hehe. Father Jboy Gonzales has a blog entry on the rules of fasting and abstinence.
So what carnal desire am I giving up this year?
I considered giving up chocolate but I already did that last year. Plus, Person A just gave me a bag full of my favorite chocolate 2 days ago.
Para sa batang malnourished na pwede ng ipadala sa Africa.
Given that I was able to complete the fast, it wouldn't be much of a challenge to exercise control for 40 days.
I also thought of giving up coffee.
I scratched the idea for 2 reasons. First, I look like this every morning at work.
To explain, I work up in the mountains of Laguna but I live in Makati; so every single day, I wake up at 4:30 in the morning, take the shuttle to work at 5:30, sleep 'til the van arrives at work 6:42. Hence, I most definitely need the caffeine shot so my mind will be up and running by 7AM. In a way, I need coffee to earn a living. Second, I also completed a 40-day coffee fast when I asked for guidance on a decision that I have to make. I know in my heart that I can easily accomplish it.
Out of the blue, an idea hit me: why not give up Facebook?
That's over a month of no access to the social network that has been my main tool for stalking people. Uh-huh! Although silently, I lurk in each of your Facebook page and keep a record of all your dalliances. Haha! If I need to stalk someone, I have a structured way of researching which involve getting information from Facebook and even checking the person's FB friends . Before you accuse me of being a creepy stalker, one should understand that I find joy in knowing tons of information - useful or not. I find satisfaction in researching and storing information that I can pull out from time to time especially when I need a conversation piece. It is important for my social skills, you know.
Weird, ole me.
The idea of giving up Facebook for the next 40 days feels perfectly right. Admittedly, I will miss the spike in my blog views every time I herald a new entry on FB. I won't be in the loop who broke up with whom, who hooked up with whom and who got engaged. I might miss gossiping about the latest status messages or viewing the profile pictures that are sometimes bordering narcissistic. I might not get the messages that have become so convenient to send via Facebook, given that almost everyone goes online every day. Most especially, I will painfully pine for the cute toddler and baby pictures that I always "liked".
On the brighter side, this will be a step for me to give up the not so good behaviors I developed through the use of social networking sites, i will also keep the relationships more personal and oh, I'll finally get to update my mobile's phonebook - after 9 months!
I am interested to know what you are giving up this Lent.
Do Share! -(",)-*wink*
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