Reaching the end of Lent's third week and feeling that I've been too easy on myself. I'm finding the physical challenges of giving up meat, alcohol and salt snacks a doddle. I'm not feeling any sense of struggle. I'm not having to fight the temptation to open that bottle of cider in the fridge or to have a glass of port. There's no temptation to buy a hamburger or fry some steak. After all, this is my 35th Lent in a row, and so the practice has become habitual, instinctive almost, and something that I've come to associate with the season.
Long ago, when I began taking Lent seriously, giving up confectionery, cakes, biscuits, desserts and sugary carbonated drinks used to be a thing, but over the decades, these have all disappeared from my day-to-day diet. I miss them not – and so avoiding them during Lent as I do at all other times of the year has long ceased to be any kind of challenge. Outside of Lent, I will occasionally eat cake or dessert for the sake of social politeness, but this category of foodstuffs does not enter my shopping cart at all. I whizz past the confectionery and cake/biscuit aisles in the supermarket without giving them a glance.
So avoiding sugar is a challenge overcome. Like learning to read or learning to drive, I've learnt to avoid sugar. And with each passing year, giving up alcohol for Lent is getting easier and easier. The widespread appearance of zero-alcohol beers, wines and even spirits, in Poland's shops and restaurants is a boon during Lent (and indeed, a cold zero beer swigged back on a long walk is preferable to one that gives you a buzz when it's hot).
My daily exercise-and-walking regime, now conducted every day since 1 January 2014, was something originally instituted during a Lent a long time ago, and was gradually spun out over the whole year. So again, in terms of physical activity, Lent isn't a challenge – it's no different to any other time of year. However, since my heart attack (which occurred last Lent!), I have ceased to do pull-ups, press-ups, sit-ups and weights, as these put too much strain on my heart.
Overall, the observance of Lent has introduced more and more healthy things into my routine; both the will not to do something unhealthy and the will to do something healthy have been trained and put into year-round practice.
So should I be setting myself tougher physical challenges? Probably not. I have lived without caffeine for Lent twice, but brain-cracking headaches put me off taking that any further. One strong cup of coffee first thing in the morning, the year round, is good for me (with the very occasional social cup now and then). I have also gone vegan for Lent twice, but that also proved too tough to continue in subsequent years. So my Lenten diet includes dairy products and fish/seafood. And this I find easy; though it will be nice to have a big juicy steak when it's all over. Exercises? If I come across something valuable (plank, back extensions and bird-dog stretches are relatively recent additions), I intend to add the exercise into my daily routine, though from the next New Year.
Absolutely crucial to all this my use of spreadsheet and gamification. The aim is for me to beat the younger me. More paces, holding the plank longer, more portions of fresh fruit & veg, and (slightly) less alcohol than last year. That's my long-term challenge. Lent is a boost, a spur. But why am I not challenging myself more during Lent? I am, but with a different focus.
The ultimate physical challenge we all face is ageing. Do we accept the challenge fully, grudgingly, or do we deny that ageing affects us? Or postpone even thinking about it until old age has caught up with us good and proper? I do see ageing as a challenge; it's rather like going on a very long bicycle ride. You need to know where you're going, train beforehand, have the right equipment, talk to those who've done it – but above all, have the right mindset.
I view life as a succession of challenges. The reason my Lents are becoming less focused on physical challenges is because I'm taking up the spiritual challenge of Lent with increasing seriousness.
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