SPRING CLEANING #1 "Going herbivore"

  Going Herbivore

 

 

"O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen."
 ~Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem 

Great Lent is well underway now. It is a time for Christians worldwide to sacrifice something "important" from their lives to repent and become closer to God. We all know lent from our youths when we would give up t.v. or ice cream or saying bad words for the 40 day fast. But its much deeper than just giving something up, its much more than ice cream or t.v. And this year I've embraced that fact. Being an Orthodox Christian is a way of life and on this seven week journey, I've already learned so much about my faith and myself.

In St. Ephrem's prayer, we can find a perfect example of what Lent is aimed at accomplishing within the individual. This is a period of which we are all to reflect on and better ourselves above all else in our life. This means to cut as many distractions from our lives as possible- or fasting (hence the "no pop or tv" notion.) In accordance to Orthodox tradition, during the Lenten period, Orthodox Christians are called to not eat meat or fish with a backbone, nor dairy products, nor olive oil, or to consume alcohol. When people hear that list, they seriously question me, "Why?!" Granted, its been a few weeks and I've seriously been hurting for a few McDoubles by now- but why go through all the trouble? Why overhaul my routine and do something that is entirely not easy- especially here at my school (since most of the food is meat or drowning in cheese)?  

 

Well- answer me this- how many times have you set out in life to change something about your habits or character and have it succeed for a few weeks, but then you fall back into your old ways do to convenience? I know I've done it with most things I've ever tried to change. "I'm going to study more", "I'm going to exercise more", "I'm going to read more", "I'm going to go to church more", "I'm going to quit smoking/drinking." This list can go on for an eternity. Going herbivore isn't what I'm doing for Lent, I'm not "giving up" meat and dairy. This is a tool to help me accomplish my goal- to become a: Better Person and a more well-rounded Orthodox Christian.

 

In order to set in motion this cascading effect of betterment, there must be a consequential process of attitudinal adjustment- the ultimate result being: Utmost Gratitude. But because everyone isn't perfect, we can lose focus and drive with our ambitions, so we need extra wood to stoke our fire. For Orthodox, that extra wood is the sacrifice of convenience and some level of enjoyment of having no meat and dairy. Do multiple "negatives" make a positive though? With an essentially vegan diet, on top of an awareness of all my flaws, and the urging need to try and replace the negatives with positive attributes, topped off with increased prayer and spiritual vigil. Sounds like a mess headed toward inevitable destruction, doesn't it!?

 

At the end of the day, drawing in the cool, moist evening air- all that's left is gratitude. The fasting initiates gratitude for God's creations, for the things you have and don't have, for the good and bad experiences had in the past and present. It may be a process that could send many to insanity, but the integral part of it all is having gratitude, faith, and motivation- belief in your God and in yourself. Lent is the binding element between God and the very basic elements of our characters. Going herbivore and fasting from other bad things isn't the point- its the heightened self awareness and motivation towards self betterment, and the increased spirituality into everyday life that makes you become the best that you can be. Lent isn't just for Christians, its for everyone that acknowledges that they could be better to their brothers and sisters in the world, and wants to be better, and strives to be! Gratitude is contagious, and spawns humility, unity, compassion. It helps us forgive and relax, to meditate and pray and to cherish what we have. It changes lives if given a chance for its roots to hold fast to the bedrock within our character. 

From this quickly dwindling Lent, I feel I have so far learned the meaning of gratitude. Maybe its insurmountable compared to some and the opposite to others, but in my own eyes and my own life I am grateful for: my education, my family and friends, my freedoms and liberties, my health, my personal finances, my talents and weaknesses, my good and bad expereinces, fly fishing, nature, food (herbivore and omnivore), clean water and air, the sturdy roof over my head, electricty, air conditioning, shoes I'm thankful for my Orthodox faith and- most importantly- my God, and , no matter how trivial or important it is- it is a gift.

 

Lent doesn't have to be contained and, in many ways, it isn't. The act of being a good person or a good Christian is simply condensed, intensified, and given a name during this time so that people remember to reflect on themselves, to be grateful, and to become better in a whole. As the end of this Great Fast draws near, do STOP...........and reflect.........on your relationship with God and with your neighbors. How can you be more thankful for all that you have, how can you treat your loved ones (and those that you don't know) better------ and how are you going to change your life to do it? 

 

I pray that you all remeber the prayer of St. Ephrim sometime again in your life, and that maybe you'll even recite it- to God or to no one- its message helps us all.