Letting it go: I always thought i'd hang it above my fireplace

I posted this on Facebook today:

A few days late i've decided to pick up a lenten practice. As part of my lenten practice I'm reading a book called "simplifying the soul". Each day there is a small practice to do i.e.: clean a filthy corner of your house, or clean out a junk drawer. I'm on day 3 which is give something of value away. The idea is to give away something that I no longer use, but is taking up space because of it's sentimental value. 


     "Today I am giving away my first snow board and bindings (but not boots). It's an entry level board approx size 165cm. great for persons btw 5'8 ish to 6'2 ish. It's nothing amazing but is perfectly capable of taking you on some great runs. I am giving this away because I am emotionally tied to it. it's old and i haven't used it since 2007. Since then it has sat in storage with every intention of hanging on to it, but no intention of ever using it again. Today it can be yours, I don't care what you do with it, ride it, use it as a decoration or as part of a project. I am detaching from it and it is no longer mine. call, text, or Facebook me if you are in the Denver area and want to come by and pick it up tonight."

To be honest, I will miss it for a day, but all it's done is take up space and clutter up our storage unit. What's really the point in keeping it? I always thought I'd hang this snowboard with stickers of all the places I've been and the things I like above my fireplace, but now, 7 years later, that's where I plan to hang a picture of my family and kids.

Lent, and Resetting our Focus During This Yearly Cycle

It's lent again, so for my spiritual practice this year I am working with this book. What initially captured me and drew me in is the notion that the author looks at lent the same way I do. as part of a yearly or periodical cycle where we take time to (as I have described in the past): "reset our spiritual clocks", or as Paula Huston so eloquently puts it: "undergoing a spiritual recalibration."

And what I love is that I connected with her concepts on the first page: This following exerpt is the intro to her book.

"Though spiritual growth occurs in all kinds of different settings, my own development has been strongly shaped by years of being an oblate, or lay associate of a monastic community. The monks, their routines, and even the grounds of the monastery are so familiar to me now that each visit feels like a homecoming. Yet no matter how well I have come to know the place, and no matter what condition I'm in when I arrive, each time I return to it, I'm startled by the same phenomenon, one that always catches me off guard. I'm surprised anew by the knowledge that I'm once again undergoing a spiritual “recalibration.” The mechanism of my soul is, in a very real way, being cleaned, repaired, and reset. When it's time to leave, I'm in a better state."

"As usual, until I arrive at the hermitage, I have no idea of how far I have once again strayed off the path. Instead of humbly following along behind Jesus, I've let myself get sidetracked by a myriad of temptations: overly ambitious creative projects, delusions about my own importance, worrisome relationships, secret small addictions, stubborn resentments, and a hundred forms of self-indulgence. The simple life of the hermitage clears my vision enough to see how far I've wandered. This is a humbling experience. For centuries, the Church has practiced a lengthy annual version of my short monastic retreats. We call it Lent, the season of the year that is particularly devoted to introspection, compunction (a piercing sense of regret for sinning), and repentance."

Huston, Paula (2011-11-14). Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit . Ingram Distribution. Kindle Edition.

Though I have never been to a monastery, I fully identify with where she is coming from. I am so jealous I couldn't make this case in years past as beautifully as she has. Im not trying to plagiarize her, but I loved this explanation / description and NEEDED to share this.

This season of lent fills me with so much hope and optimism for what I will learn, and starts me wondering what path it will put me on to explore this year.

Peace.