The Fast

 



        Although members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not observe Lent, I do.  I didn't appreciate the Lenten season when I was younger and Lutheran, but I have come to appreciate it now. There is something about sacrificing something for Lent that seems to do something for me spiritually in a way that I can't really explain. 

        Now those of you reading this who might also be members of the Restored church will no doubt remind me that there is a monthly fast on the first Sunday of each month so the Lenten fast is not really necessary. I do not argue the benefit of the once a month fast, however there are also benefits from abstaining from certain things for longer periods of time. 

        This year my Lenten fast consists of staying off Facebook and not eating meat on Fridays. I know that one is not supposed to tell others that they are fasting or what constitutes the fast. However I wanted to write about my experiences off Facebook so far.

        Like many people the amount of time starting at screens was beginning to concern me so I thought a fast from Facebook would be a good start on reducing screen time. Several people I know have talked about the harm they feel social media causes. My concern was that I felt I was spending too much time aimlessly scrolling and pulling out my phone whenever I had to wait. I wanted to see what would happen if I gave up Facebook for Lent. 

        In preparation for this I hid my Facebook app button so it would not be readily available. Out of sight, out of mind. I also told C so he would not send me things on Facebook or show me things on Facebook. That way I would be less tempted.

        The first few days were not easy. Anytime I had to wait in the car of at a restaurant, I was accustomed to pulling out my phone. I looked at my emails and messages, but after that there was nothing to look at so I put my phone down. I started to look around more and people watch. When I ate lunch at work, I used to scroll through to see what was going on. Now I just look at mail and messages and then put the phone away. At home I knit or find something else to do instead of scroll. 

        There are really only two things I miss. One of them is Texts with Mittens, an online cartoon about a cat that texts his owner, who is a single woman. I've found another way to access this cartoon. The other thing I miss is the ability to comment on the Facebook page of a podcast I like. The past two episodes have been really good and I wanted to add my comments to the episode posts and to read the comments of others listeners. I debated making an exception for this, but this would defeat the purpose of the fast. It must be a sacrifice. 

        I have heard people say that they feel better when they give up social media. I have to admit that I have felt better since I  started my fast. I feel like I'm wasting less time and paying more attention to who and what is around me. I do experience low level anxiety and that has gone away. I'm guessing it is because I'm not seeing so much political stuff. That might be bad as  I'm not as well informed as I could be, but on the other hand, most of what is going on is out of my immediate control. I'm working on trying not to worry about things that I can't control. 

        So far I'm happy with how things are going. I'm hoping this will lead to reading more books, more music practice and more knitting.

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