March On

Today is a new day, a new month, a new beginning. 

Beginnings are significant. They spark in us feelings of hope and possibility. 

But beginnings can also be scary. Beginnings inevitably mean leaving something behind. 

I believe this is the intention of Lent. 

Lent is a time of cutting through the layers we have added over the past year. Detaching ourselves from what we've built for the world, to impress, to fit in, to hide behind. The easy stuff falls away first. Now we encounter the ties we cling to more tightly. 

We feel the hope and possibility of living a more authentic life. We sense the closeness we could feel to God and one another if we were able to break free.

But beginnings are scary. 

Take this first day of March, this temporal landmark, to check in. Reaffirm the commitment to your Lenten promises. Go deeper. Don't be afraid. 

What have I learned about myself?

How have I changed since I started this journey?

Is there any part of myself that feels false in this moment?

What would change if I let that part of me go?

What is holding me back from a deeper relationship with God?

Starting today, what can I do to make the most of these next few weeks of Lent? 

"What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it all the rest are not only useless but disastrous." ~ Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert