SIENA JEAKLE  ’15

It’s that time of year again — the season of new life, Spring cleaning, and, for Christians, our forty days of dieting. Despite criticisms of Lent from both the religious and the non-religious, I hold that Lent is nothing but beneficial when practiced thoughtfully, and it really would do the world good if it could be a national holiday.

Lent is, of course, less glamorous than Christmas and Easter, and so, naturally, it has not yet been scooped up from the liturgical calendar to play a role on the universal and commercial stage. It seems a ridiculous proposition to imply that everyone should consider practicing Lent, but examining one’s life and assessing what needs to change shouldn’t have to be a purely religious concept. What’s wrong with a little secular spirituality? If we as a society can ignore the religious aspects of the holidays that put chocolate on the shelves, why not also embrace a time that embodies giving up, rather than giving and getting.

I’m not even saying that everyone should actually practice Lent itself, but just a period of fasting and reflection. I honestly believe that people would dig it, too. Self-discipline is in these days, so self-reflection could be the next big thing. Lenten goals are basically just religious, noncommittal New Year’s Resolutions, except they’re actually doable and don’t have to make you hate yourself.

New Year’s resolutions are too absolute, and the goal behind them is to “fix” ourselves. Lent, on the other hand, also exists to make us better, but the purpose of Lenten goals is to examine ourselves and to challenge ourselves.

I personally, love the element of challenge that accompanies Lent. It’s a new project, and it’s fun to try out life a different way. It can really be thought of as another component of Spring Cleaning; cleaning out the unproductive and harmful parts of our routines. Throwing out the bad habits we’ve picked up along the way through the dark months of autumn and winter. Spring is the season of birth, anyway. Of course we need this time to wake up and shake off the darkness.

That’s why it is a true bummer that Lent itself is met with so much resistance. Many people check out when they hear the word God associated with anything, especially when this God is calling for discipline. Right when religion class stops making us feel good about ourselves just the way we are and begins to challenge us is when many people stop listening. However, we could all stand to step back and take a look at the way we’re living our lives. Absolutely all of us.

It feels satisfying to shake things up, to take life on without the habits and comforts to which we usually cling. Then, at the end of sixty days, we either learn that life is more fulfilling without these habits, or that those habits truly are beneficial to us. Either way, we are awarded the gift of awareness. That is nothing but good.

Lent is an opportunity to refresh, not a self-flagellation convention. Everyone should have the opportunity to reboot and spiritually re-situate, no matter how they feel about religion. I hope someday we’ll have some sort of nondenominational Springtime-New-Year’s-resolution-trial-period, and we’ll all get the opportunity to give things up and become cognizant of how we affect our surroundings and how they affect us. Until then, I’m glad I have Lent. My suggestion is that everyone makes the most of it, and I hope we all feel fresh and renewed by Easter.