Saturday, The First Week of Lent, YEAR B

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms
                                                 ~ Henri David Thoreau, Walden

Living Deliberately, Living Deeply

At our last H & H gathering I noted the first lines of the above quote from Thoreau. The rest of the quote helps flesh out (1) a good explanation of the purpose of Lent (2) why we would spend 8 months together contemplating and striving to live into this year’s theme: “Embracing Life, Engaging Death,” and (3) the reason for gathering each month in H&H. I list why here in the form of a litany:

• to live deliberately
• to face into the essential facts of life
• to learn from living
• not get to the point of death and realize we had not truly lived
• to choose not to live what is unworthy of the fullest investment of oneself
• to avoid living what is in reality not life
• to be reminded that real living is precious and dear
• not simply to live out our days in resignation knowing that we will one day die
• to live deeply
• to suck out all the marrow ~ that which is deepest and at the core ~ of life
• to live simply and yet substantively
• to eliminate that which is not true life or truly life-giving, and
• to track life to its essence

As I mentioned before, I think the metaphor of “taking stock” offers us a helpful image for understanding better the spirit and purpose of the season of Lent. Lent is Spiritual Inventory Taking Time or if you prefer Life-Inventory Time. This guides us into a fuller, more mature and constructive way of participating in this season than merely talking about what we are “giving up for Lent.” Just as hard work and specific exercises train an athlete’s body for a sporting event or a musician for a performance, so too the purpose of Lent is to support, encourage, and prepare us to live Easter more consciously, passionately, gratefully, and joyfully.

THIS is how we live deliberately– by setting aside regular time for reflection. Then putting into practicing and acting on what emerges.

Taking Stock

Imagine yourself as a grocer. The formative and transformative questions of Lent are:

Q? What currently do I have stocked that is life-giving and beneficial to my spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being?

Title this page: MAINTAIN – KEEP STOCKED Take 15-20 minutes and using stream-of-consciousness writing, jot down everything that you can think of that cultivates and supports becoming human and holy, that enhances and vivifies your life and the life of others. Go back to it and keep adding to your list. Let me fire your imagination — things like – greeting the day with a prayer of gratitude, walking the dog, smiling at people, teaching ESL, 20 minutes of contemplative silence each day, oohing and aahing, counting my blessings—literally; working at the food pantry, praying for people while driving simply by saying aloud their name as a way of re-membering them to God, gardening or baking or singing or writing or whistling, communicating to at least one person each day how much they mean to you, putting an alms container in your car for giving money to anyone who asks for help, and being kind, being kind, being kind – you get the idea.

Q? What is on the shelves of my life that is unhealthy, detrimental to full human living, and needs to be thrown (not given) away?

Title this page: Toss in the COMPOST (because “everything belongs”) This is partially what is meant by a “spirituality of subtraction.” Dare to ask what needs to be eliminated from your life. Most unhealthy habits and compensatory behaviors are actually trying to serve and tell us something important, but they go about it the wrong way. They mask a deeper truth. Whether negative self-talk, being judgmental toward others, excessive worry, overeating, overworking, gossiping, avoiding fears, busyness, not living in the moment, etc., see if you can trace and identify where these behaviors come from. Then, each day, offer yourself grace, and commit to discarding one unhealthy item you currently stock.

Q? What is not currently stocked on the shelves of my life that would lead to being more genuinely and fully alive?

Title this page: MUST ADD (to my life) You might think, “Well, if I knew what to add, I’d stock it.” But more than likely when we look at the above “unhealthy” list, when we look at persons we respect and admire, when we take the time to listen deeply to our own inner struggles, duplicities, secret yearnings, desires, and hopes, or when we dare to dream, we can find our way to what we know will enhance our lives and the lives of others.

Let’s shrink this down to something doable. This weekend identify—

3 things currently in your life that you are going to keep stocked.
3 things that you are going to take off the shelf and toss in the compost.
1-2 things that are not currently in your daily, weekly, or monthly life that you will begin to stock.

Remember, be gracious and patient with yourself. Thoreau didn’t go to the woods just for an afternoon. It takes time to become a human being.

Dan