Lenten Discipline

A long-standing tradition in Lent is to give up something. I think the idea behind this tradition is that through this small personal sacrifice we are reminded of the larger sacrifice of Christ. Usually I don't worry about this tradition too much, but this year I decided to do two specific things throughout Lent, and both are related to our trip to Europe.

First of all I have given up drinking Coke, which, if you know me at all, is somewhat of an addiction. As some people need their morning coffee, I need a couple of cans of Coke a day. From this habit I get my caffeine and sugar hit. But at the same time I also know that drinking that much pop (of any kind) is not so healthy - it certainly hasn't done any favours to my teeth or my waistline. So far it has been over 5 days, and while I've had my moments I haven't given in to those temptations and I remain Coke-free.

This is related to the Europe trip because I thought I should try and kick the Coke habit before going to Europe where it will be much more expensive to maintain such a habit. I remember when I was on the choir tour to Europe in 1980, and friend and I were thirsty after walking around Paris one day - so we stopped into a little café and each ordered a Coke. The drink was served in a nice sized glass with a lime slice on top - very classy, and it sure tasted great. Then we got the bill only to discover that we owed pretty close to $5 each for these soft drinks - and that was almost 30 years ago. If I'm going to pay that kind of money I'd rather have a nice glass of Italian wine or fruit juice or something! So that I don't have such strong Coke cravings while in Europe I thought it best to try and kick the habit in advance - thus the Lenten discipline (which I plan to keep up with even after Lent is over - though I might allow myself one Coke a week or something like that).

Secondly, I decided that I should get in good hiking shape since Beth and I will be doing a lot of walking while in Europe. It has been too cold and icy to walk outside, but since we have a treadmill in the basement there is no excuse. So my goal during Lent is to do a minimum of 30 minutes 5 days a week on the treadmill. So far I've been keeping up the schedule. I look forward to the day when I can do my walking outside, but winter has been hanging on longer and colder than usual. I hope the old saying "In like a lion, out like a lamb" is accurate this year, because March certainly came in like a lion.

Beth has been doing her own exercising, mostly she walks stairs at work during her lunch break. Doing stairs will be beneficial when we're climbing up and down the moors of Scotland, hiking around the fjords of Norway or when we have to climb the Spanish Stairs in Rome. The hotel we've booked for our first night in Europe is called the De La Ville Roma, which is situated right in the heart of Rome, at the top of the Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti). These steps are apparently the longest and widest stairs in Europe. So if we are to climb up and down the 138 steps a number of times while going about our sightseeing Beth's form of exercise seems a smart choice.

So while the reasons for my Lenten disciplines are not exactly spiritual, they will enable me to be better prepared for our pilgrimage to Europe and in that sense they make sense for me this Lent.