For me, Lent is the spiritual high-point of the year - on so many levels.
The most basic is the Observation of the Returning Sun. Although Easter is a moveable feast and can occur as early as 22 March and as late as 25 April, the Lenten period that precedes it correlates with the coming of spring. As I write, plant life is wintering; there are no flowers and no deciduous leaves. Easter Sunday this year falls on 9 April; by then, spring in Poland should be getting under way. My orchard, full of apples in September, is now full of dead twigs, and though blossom can't be expected until early May, by Easter, the miraculous rebirth will have started. Between now and then, each day can bring intimations of spring to revel in. The sun much higher in the sky will bringing more warmth and evening daylight, life will feel brighter, more joyous. I will be able to go out unburdened by the weight of my heavy, hooded, quilt-lined winter parka. Please - Observe the Miracle.
Lent is traditionally a time for self-denial - which really is more about self-control and restraint; for the 32nd year in a row, I shall give up drinking alcohol, and as for many of those 32 years, I shall give up eating meat. Good habits that I initiated during Lent have tended to stay on and become part of my year-round lifestyle. Having given up confectionary, cakes and biscuits over successive Lents, they have disappeared from my diet entirely. And in general - reining in consumption, making do and being satisfied with what one has is also beneficial.
But above all, Lent should be a time of reflection on matters spiritual, a chance to step back from daily routines and consider the most important questions concerning our existence. What is life - how did it come into existence? What is it for? What is its purpose? We are more than meat-covered skeletons that accidentally came into being on this spherical rock hurtling around the sun as it makes its way around the centre of our galaxy. We have our scientific explanations and equations that reduce our reality into mere matter and energy, cause and effect.
But is there more to life than that? I am certain that there is. And the knowledge that there is - the conviction that there is - makes life joyous, makes it worth living, giving thanks and savouring each moment.
So join me then from Ash Wednesday, 22 February, for my daily reflections and meditations, right through to Easter.
This time last year:
A blustery day
Would the Universe exist if you were not there?
This time seven years ago:
Dreams and visions of past lives
This time eight years ago:
Monist or dualist: which are you?
This time nine years ago:
Grim prospects for Ukraine
This time ten years ago:
Wrocław's new airport terminal
This time 11 years ago:
A study in symmetry: Kabaty Metro station
This time 12 years ago:
To the Devil with it all - a short story
This time 13 years ago:
Waiting for the meltdown
This time 15 years ago:
Flat tyre
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