I thought I would try something extra nutty this evening and keep my blog post fairly short and to the point. I know, I’m sort of doubting that will happen too as I type this, but by God… let’s give this crazy notion a whirl.
Today is Ash Wednesday, hence the snappy picture of our blog hero to the right, looking dapper as ever in pointing out the incredibly obvious ashes mark on my dome. Because you wouldn’t have noticed it otherwise, right?
I’m a fairly private person when it comes to my own faith, hence I ‘m not going to spend a lot of time going into the details of that… however, I think there is something about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent generally that is a positive in our hectic modern world. Basically, it’s meant to be a time to stop, reflect and realize there’s much in life that’s a lot bigger than you and your individual problems. Separate that from the particular religious aspects of the season and it soon becomes a valuable lesson for anyone, regardless of belief, or lack thereof. It’s a bit of my mission for the next several weeks to make reflection a better habit than I have.
In addition, I am also looking to do something this year for Lent in addition to the “giving up” piece that so many people tend to associate with the season (although I am doing a bit of that too). Inspired by a Facebook post I saw from author Robyn O’Brien, I remembered what my Mom always would say about Lent when I tried to think of what to give up. “Kevin, you don’t have to give something up… you can just do something instead.” As usual, Mom had the wisdom I am usually only able to feign.
So this year, my goal is to try and make someone’s day, every day by paying a very sincere compliment… and not repeat anyone for the entire period of Lent. Sounds doable, right? I think one way I will do this is just to post a Facebook status update each day on one of my friends (especially on days where I cannot think of a specific compliment I gave… like today).
Will this change the world? No, probably not… but honestly, I think we live in a world of sorely in need of people saying nice things about each other and really meaning them. It’s simple to do, costs absolutely nothing and you never know who might need that lift, maybe even more than you know.
Off to start my do-gooding… and these 40 days may turn into something a little bit more than just a short window goal. Wouldn’t that be something?