The Lent Experiment

I've thought about Lent. I've abstained from soda or other small thing that required very little sacrifice on my part. But it was always for a week or two when I remembered that it was in fact Lent. It more or less came and went without much notice from me. Until this year.

I decided mid-December that my goal for 2012 was Simplicity. The month of January was spent sorting, donating, organizing, and throwing out. It felt so peaceful. My home feels calm and I LOVE it. And I'm not finished yet. I continue to donate, sort, and give back. I don't want to be tied to things. I don't want a house full of stuff I don't need that will ultimately become the problem of someone else at some point down the road.

I'm doing okay with this mindset. It's working for me. I've seen great results both in my home and in my personal mentality. So I'm cruising through this resolution, feeling good about it, when I realize, there is more to simplify. Enter Lent at the perfect timing to help me do just that.

Aside from removing visual clutter, I also need to remove time clutter. The things that I have spread throughout my day that deprive me of a life of simplicity and the lifestyle and priorities that I have set as goals. So this year, I am giving up Facebook and Netflix. It is so easy to escape from the things I have to do and allow myself to be distracted from the things I should do and need to do. I want to write. I want to get my novel ready to edit within this year. That can't be done if I'm sitting around watching Clean House reruns or scrolling through status updates. My husband has decided to give up movies in general.

The results of Day One:

My husband and I sat on the couch with mugs of hot tea and talked. We have both been so busy and had so much going on these last few weeks, it was sweet to just reconnect. And not in front of a t.v. screen. The clincher for me that Lent was going to be good for us was when he stayed and read me poetry after I got ready for bed last night.

Simplicity. Giving up the things I don't need in order to focus on the things that have innate value. People, relationships, and the desires of my heart. These are the things I will be getting back to over the next 39 days. I'm looking forward to it.