It’s Ash Wednesday today and the beginning of Lent. If you are unfamiliar you can find some information here.

Some background

I grew up in a Catholic home, later to become less strict Christians. I spent many years giving something up for lent and being very familiar with guilt (Thanks Catholicism). As an adult Ive become less religious and much more educated in all religions rather than simply the one I grew up in. I also now work in a Episcopal school so I attend Chapel services daily Monday-Friday all this to say that while I have my own beliefs i’m still surrounded by it all the time anyway.

Every year I still give something up for Lent because I find it a good time for reflection. We’ve passed the intense gluttony of the holidays, the super sacrifice that comes with January and all the resolutions we make for ourselves and we are coming into a new season and also…not that far from Summer. It’s a good time for me to check myself and also be willing to do look outside myself.

What I am giving up

This year I am giving up Starbucks. Doesn’t seem like much right? But I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks. It’s expensive, fat & calorie loaded and so convenient. I consistently “give it up” but don’t have the willpower to actually follow through. It’s also a point of laziness for me since I have a kuerig at home that was gifted to me and I have like 6 bags of coffee and all these fun syrups. It’s basically an addiction. I have Starbucks sometimes 6-7 days a week, can you imagine how much that adds up to? So I am giving it up.

What’s next – 40 Acts

A more religious friend of mine actually told me about this great site called 40 Acts the premise is that for Lent (the 40 days) you engage in acts of generosity. They make this whole challenge about it and how much you give of yourself, your time and/or money is really up to you. I thought this would be a great way to treat this time as not just one of sacrifice (suffering through my Starbucks addiction) but also one of kindness.