The season of Lent approached rather quickly this year and a day or two before it arrived, I hadn't decided what my thing to give up would be. While growing up in a church that didn't follow the liturgical calendar afforded me the opportunity to skip this practice regularly with no concern that I was missing out on something, in recent years, I've come to realize that there could be some good to come from participating in spiritual disciplines and practices that many other Christians partake in. Partially because I felt a bit odd being the only one of my friends who didn't know what Lent was in high school, but moreso because the church I've been attending for the past 7 years has the standard "Do you know that Lent starts this week? What are you giving up? Why are you giving it up? What do you hope to attain by giving it up?" sermon the Sunday before Ash Wednesday rolls around.
So over the years, I've given up the standard sex, drugs, and alcohol as a way to achieve the easiest way through lent with little sacrifice. But other times, I've given up Facebook, online news websites, video games, pop, and eating out at restaurants.
This year we decided together to try something different. A couple we were talking with a few days before Lent began mentioned that the previous year they had given up watching TV after 9 pm. To some this may seem easy, but as parents of two children, they found it hard because they just wanted to spend some time unwinding after a long day of work and family commitments.
Both R and I liked this suggestion, so we stole it and made a slight twist to it. We were unable to watch TV before 9 PM during Lent. To some this may seem easy, but in the middle of one of the coldest winters on record where leaving the house wasn't as easy as throwing on some sandals and walking to the park, it was a bit of a challenge. The hardest part was on our days off where we couldn't throw on Netflix and veg all day in front of the TV.
To cope, we began reading. A lot. I was burning through a book every few days and R wasn't too far behind. Thank goodness for the Library. I was able to read a number of books I wouldn't have considered otherwise. Here's my list:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion: A professor with Asperger's Syndrome but doesn't realize he has it tries to find a wife through a survey. He meets a girl, named Rosie, and the project morphs into finding her father.
No Relation by Terry Fallis: A man with a unique name loses his job, wallet, and girlfriend on the same day. He then goes on a unique quest to come to terms with his name, family, and life.
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Carey Elwes and Joe Layden (with inserts from many others): Pretty much as it sounds. It's a good behind the scenes tale of the making of one of my favourite movies.
Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman; Race to Dakar by Charley Boorman; Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman : These three are all in the same vein - adventure across the world on motorcycles. I'm not into motorcycles myself, but I do have a yearning, albeit very much buried, for some sort of global adventure to this extent. The first one they take off from London to New York by riding around the world going east. Second is Charley's tale of attempting to complete one of the most gruelling motorcycle races in the world, from Lisbon Portugal to Dakar Senegal. Finally was Ewan and Charley back at it again, but this time going from Scotland to South Africa. They made a documentary on all these two, and if you can get past the language, is pretty good to watch.
The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. This is a translation from the original Swedish about a man who reaches his 100th birthday and then decides to escape, albeit somewhat slowly, from his retirement home and begins a new adventure. Throughout the book, flashbacks to different parts of his life showing various encounters with different historical persons and how he was able to impact the course of global events. Sort of like Forrest Gump. Every chapter had me saying "Of course that would happen..." It was ridiculous, but I couldn't stop reading. There is a movie, although the book is more fleshed out.
And a few I've read since completing Lent:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: In the not so distant future, the world is falling apart and many people have decided to live their lives in a virtual world, sort of like Second Life. The creator of this world, who happens to have a huge love for all things 1980's, passes away leaving his fortune to the first person to solve the riddles and reach the final level of this immersive game. I found this enthralling, yet somewhat depressing as it seemed like something that could almost be real given the right set of circumstances.
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion: Don and Rosie have been married for a while and Rosie announces she's pregnant. Don takes it in his way and the book continues to explore the outcomes.
The Bear by Claire Cameron: A family goes on a camping trip in Algonquin park. After the kids are put to sleep, they wake up to hearing grunting noises and their dad locks them into a cooler (with a rock holding it open a bit for air). The book is written from the perspective of 5 year old Anna who is left to take care of her brother, Stick, after her parents were attacked by a bear (the black dog).
All in all, this experience has got me reading again. Hopefully it keeps up.
Since Lent completed, we've been allowed to have the TV on again during the day and early weekends. It's come back, almost to the level it was at. We're trying to fend this off recently by going for a walk every evening before we can watch anything. Here's hoping we keep it up.
