The 40-Day Experiment

Lent season is about to begin. Although I choose other means than my Catholic roots for spiritual expression, I find the principle behind Lent to be inspiring and with great potential for personal transformation. For those of you unfamiliar with Lent, it is a 40-day period of personal sacrifice to honour the death and rebirth of Christ.

A few years ago, for the first time in decades, I revisited this holiday after being inspired by one of my yoga students, who told me a tale of how her husband, two children and herself all declared personal sacrifices for the 40 days of Lent and the ways in which each of them was positively affected by their sacrifices. In fact, she told me, what they gained was worth more than the initial sacrifice.

If you know me, I LOVE positive change. So last year, I experimented and privately declared "40 days of Gratitude For My Husband".  Every day, on the wall closest to his side of the bed, I placed a handwritten sticky note of something specific I was grateful for that day as it related to him. Here's what it did: every day it put me on high alert to look for the ways in which my husband brings joy to my life. Once it started, I had to follow through because... you guessed it... by day three he was expecting another sticky note. I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure it inspired my husband to give me something to write about. As we would get ready for bed at night, I would linger until I caught him reading my daily note just so I could watch his reaction. I must say, things that would have normally been taken for granted or go unnoticed by both of us were acknowledged and they clearly transformed the mundane into the extraordinary. When the 40 days were up, my husband looked at me and asked, "Can we make it into '80 days of Gratitude?'" We both laughed, but at the same time recognized the value of this little exercise of giving up time to give a little more appreciation. The other benefit of this experiment was a humbling of the ego, as for both of us awareness was no longer the self but on the other.

The beauty is you don't have to be a Christian to benefit from this exercise. If you are someone who is earnestly trying to become a better human being and to serve humanity, why not give it a go?  What would you be willing to sacrifice for the benefit of self and others? Below are some challenges that may pique your interest or lead to another idea. I'd love to hear what you'll commit to and the results of your 40 day experiment.

1.  Sacrifice violence. That's right... a violence detox. No more violent television shows, movies, video games. No more violent words or actions. This means you'll have to be a little more creative with how you express your anger. Oh... and violent thoughts count too!
2.  A Technology Fast. This can be done in many capacities. No electronics from sun-down to sun-up. It could be for one-hour daily. You make the call and then...unplug. Use the time you gain to act in ways that benefit others: volunteer at your favourite non-profit, help an elderly neighbour, spend quality time with loved ones, etc.
3. Commit to Sit. Give up 15 minutes a day before work or before bed to sit in silence. Meditate. Pray. Reflect on a high virtue like love, peace, unity... or just breathe.
4. Save your change. Skip the coffee and throw the money in a jar. Convince your latte drinking friends to do the same and then at the end of the month have fun pooling your coffee money together to donate to a charity of your choice.
5. Read Between the Lines. Read character building, value-instilling texts. Be curious and investigate several faiths to find what they all have in common.

 This year, I'm going to give up 15 minutes of sleep for an early morning meditation, as well as lights out from sun down to sun up– reminding me there are many places in the world without electricity and that there is value in simplicity. My candles are stocked. I'll let you know how my family responds!