Today is Shrove Tuesday, or pancake day, the day before Lent begins. I am not giving up pancakes today, or any day if I can help it.
The part of the Christian tradition from which I have come is not very strong on giving things up for Lent, so I never knowingly have. This year I will be keeping the same practice of not giving up.
This year I will not give up on being human. Each day I phone my dad, who is getting very deaf and as we shout at each other down the phone he tells me he is still breathing. I’m hoping he’s not going to give that up for Lent either.
I’m on Twitter but I shall not be giving that up for Lent. I know it has its dark side but I’ve found a lot of friends and encouragement there. I meet mushroom people and talk about fungi. I discuss writing projects, nature and walking, finding pebbles and creative arts. All this has helped me to not give up on being human.
In the Rule of St Benedict I find a lot about being human. Some of it sounds very sixth century of course, hence my weekly letters to St Benedict, but in general I meet some human issues and am helped to apply them to my own human life. The Nuns of Twitter are a great source of encouragement in this.
Each time I visit the social media platform I am invited into the lives and concerns of other humans. I hear about the struggles on the NHS frontline or the daily emotional roller coasters that challenge mental health or just getting by. Too often I learn about those who have died or who are dying from COVID19. All this is only a breath away. So for this Lent I’ll not give up on trying to be human. I hope you’ll join me.
From the remembered bible: He lived in the wilderness for 40 days.
Keep me Human, Wilderness One.
Janet Lees, a Friend of Scholastica, resident in Longdendale. On Twitter as @Bambigoesforth