Tomorrow marks Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for Roman Catholics like myself (as well as many other Christian traditions). No pancakes or leftovers in this house...I am currently cooking a pot roast (couple hours to go) while enjoying a delightful beverage of the alcoholic variety.
I've come to look forward to...and enjoy...Lent and its forty days. It gives me a good excuse to un-tether myself from the many vices and bad habits I've created...and enjoyed...over my decades on this planet. This year, I've decided to abstain from alcohol, white flour, and white sugar...all things that I should probably be abstaining from anyway (none of them are good for you, really). But the fact is I've been enjoying ALL of them in far too much abundance lately. The holiday season tends to do that...it's amazing how much weight I've put on since October.
But abstaining and fasting (I'll probably do a 7 day juice/water fast next week) are wonderful for clearing the mind, as well as the body. And I need to get "clear;" far too many ridiculous stresses on my mind the last many moons...really, since my mom died in April so, yeah, most of the last year.
[I did get my shit together, round about September, but I started drinking again in October and everything kind of went down the tubes]
SO...one last evening of over-indulgence, and then six-ish weeks when I try to get a bit closer to God, and a bit cleaner with regard to my own "temple" (i.e. the body I've got to work with). Hopefully, I can re-establish some of the good habits I started building last Lent.
Here's hoping.
Anyway. No gaming-related stuff to report at the moment, so I'll sign off. Happy Mardi Gras, folks! And happy Lent, as well.
: )
[for people interested in my pot roast recipe (which is delicious), I use this one from the internet. Enjoy!]
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| Like this, but my Dutch oven is Seahawk blue (of course). |
Curiously, I also made a pot roast today; honey, basil and apple vinegar as a base.
ReplyDeleteI wish you well with your asceticism. I achieve my own by creative work, which is more than sufficient to brutalise my sense of pride.
I believe that you take criticism a bit harder than myself. My ego isn't bullet-proof, it's just extremely resilient to brutalizing.
DeleteAs for your pot roast, I have little doubt it was delicious...mine certainly was!
; )
It is good to fast indeed. I fasted from coffee during Advent, something I thought would be impossible. But getting so sick I didn't want to drink coffee right at the start of Advent got me past the dreaded headache part and into the part where I fought the habits.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a blessed Lent. We all need God more than whatever it is we're giving up.
100% agreement.
DeleteI'd forgotten that it was Ash Wednesday. It's the first time that I can recall that it has coincided with St. Valentine's day, and as I'm the grumpy sort I try to blot out the Hallmark Holidays that all of these events seem to have become.
ReplyDeleteLike yourself I've put a bit of weight on over the winter, but if truth be told most of it was probably there from the summer. I'm needing to lose about 14lbs in your money, but getting active is more important for me. At my latitudes it has only just started being light at 8am and 5pm.
Those three things that your abstaining from are undoubtedly the worst offenders in the western diet. It's only a few days of no processed sugar and white flour for me to feel the benefit of it, and it was 4y at the end of last month that I had stopped drinking too (except for the occasional sip, and I mean a sip, of my wife's wine). Zero and near-zero beers are getting better all the time.
Yeah, there's this new brand...Athletic Brewing Co....that's quite good. However, I'm even trying to stay away from the 0% beer at the moment (it's still liquid calories).
DeleteI'm christian but, not catholic. I can appreciate the idea of lent and making a sacrifice. Nothing wrong with stealing a good idea.
ReplyDeleteTypically I go for something that reduces a bad slothful habit. This year it to stop scrolling my new feed and reading useless articles. Also add one health related, this year it giving up chips.
I've been doing dry April for the last couple decades. It always helps lose a few LBs and give the old liver a rest.
Yeah. I didn't mention it above, but I've decided to abstain from Discord servers also, as I've been spending far too much time on them lately. Talk about slothful habits!
DeleteNot to be too much of a stickler, but Catholics are not supposed to be eating meat on Ash Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteOops! I apologize about that last comment. I totally misread it and thought it was posted today. Please forgive me.
ReplyDeleteNothing to forgive. No worries.
Delete: )