For the record, I am posting this to encourage my brothers and sisters of faith.  I am not trying to bring attention to myself.  I believe spiritual fasting is an observance to be kept between myself and my Papa (God).  Whatever I say that is truthful and good, comes from Papa; and whatever I say that is not is from me alone.     

Earlier this year, before Lent started, I heard about the #Muslims4Lent movement on the Twitter.  

The internet can be a billboard for all that is wrong in the world, but scrolling through the hashtags on Twitter on interfaith solidarity during Lent was incredibly moving.  I felt so much love.  It also made me want to participate in Ramadan this year.

So in humility and respect, I am going to challenge myself to this.  To grow, to learn, and to love more.    

I have seen the same love that I feel from my Papa in the eyes and words of my Muslim brothers and sisters.  I believe that now more than ever it is so important for people of faith to stand together in love and mutual respect.  

While this might be a shot in the dark, if at least one person can be shown love through this movement then it will be worthwhile.  Because despite the magnitude of hate in the world, Love is more powerful even in its smallest of forms.  

And if I can participate in spreading love, then sign me up.

On a side note, I remember reading one Tweet earlier this year from a Muslim woman remarking that Lent was hard to observe when you give something up for 40 days and as I prepare for Ramadan I feel the same way about completely fasting during daylight hours for a month.  You guys are hardcore.

Yesterday I said that today would begin a countdown to Lent 2016 and that I would title this blog “Day 311.”  I changed my mind.

While cleaning off my desk last night, I came across an article from Yoga Journal that I tore out when our Lenten journey began and meant to write about.  But the pages got buried and I never thought about it again.  The article is about a series of poses that, according to Kundalini yoga thinking, will strengthen the abdominal area where the third chakra is located.  That chakra is the source of our willpower and our ability to stay grounded, balanced.  The article goes on to recommend doing this sequence for 40 days because that’s supposedly the amount of time it takes to develop a habit.  When this sequence of poses has become a part of your daily life, self-doubt, procrastination, and negative thinking will become a thing of the past.  The article claims this practice also helps folks to stay on course, enables them to make change happen.

I wish my only goal for Lent had been to do this sequence every single day.  What an interesting experiment that would have been.  Since I believe it’s never too late, I’m going to try it for the next 40 days and so will number my next set of blogs from one to 40.  And when those 40 days are over, I’ll tackle some other goal for 40 days.  That means I have seven bundles of 40 days and a final, smaller bundle of 31 days to fool around with until Lent 2016 begins.  

Happy Easter, one and all.  And here’s to the next 40-day journey!

“Our daily decisions and habits have a huge impact upon both our levels of happiness and success.”                                                           --Shawn Achor