The Start of 40 days

Forty days can seem like a long time.....and in a lot of ways, it is.  Six weeks.  A month and a half.  Enough time that before it's over, we'll change the clocks, pass into Spring, and I'll do another quarter close, and have a birthday on the way.  Forty days. 

They say it only takes 27 days to make a new habit, or break an old one.  I'm not convinced about that - I've made new habits in much shorter time, and I broke my diet soda habit almost instantly almost six months ago.  Other habits just haven't seemed to stick at all, even after months (months!) of repetition.  There's always something that can derail you or keep you on track, and I can find both when I'm looking.

But now, it's time for Forty days. 

If that reference isn't familiar, then you're not alone.  It wasn't familiar to me all that long ago, either.  It's a turn of phrase in the Bible meant to indicate a long time, and in this case, it's the time that Jesus wandered the desert, being tempted by the devil, prior to returning to Jerusalem to accept death on a cross.

In modern times, 40 days represents the Christian period of Lent, a time of remembrance of Christ's days in the desert.  It can also be a time of introspection, of looking at the world and yourself and assessing the areas of your life that just aren't living up to the promises you've made to yourself.

In the past, I've taken this season a bit seriously, using Lent as an 'excuse' to get my body back in shape after a difficult winter.   Usually it works; last year, it didn't.  In truth, it was a miserable failure because I just wasn't committed, and that attitude persisted for the rest of the year last year, and into 2019. 

This year, I'm trying to approach Lent from a different perspective.  It's not just going to be about my physical well-being, but my emotional and spiritual as well.  This past year has been harder than most, and I'm feeling the cumulative effect of many of the decisions I've made in the past few years.  From the nature of my work to my family relationships and the obligations I've taken up in my community, I've been off from the right direction.

Not wildly off, mind you - an outsider looking at my life would say that I've got it all together.  So I'm not complaining that I'm off the rails.  I do feel, though, that the various facets of my life could achieve greater harmony, and that by trying to align them better, I can find more peace in my days. 

So that's what my next 40 days will be about.  Alignment, harmony, peace, and through those, success and happiness.  I hope that others can find the same.