Today’s subject is not horses. For more non-equine content, see my other blog, Off Topic. Rodney’s Saga returns to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
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Remember that thou art stardust, and to stardust shalt thou return.
The Imposition of Ashes – modified [Lenten Thoughts]
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My Lenten discipline this year will be to sort my LEGO bricks.
Say what?
First of all, I have bought into the theory that one should not use Lent for giving up bad habits: quitting smoking or eating less chocolate. You should be doing those things anyway.
Neither should one’s Lenten practice be self-serving:
On the other hand we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything—even to social justice … For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop.
The Screwtape Letters, XXIII
by C.S. Lewis (originally published Bles 1942, online)
A Lenten discipline should be an activity that impacts your life, that disrupts your routine, that causes you to pause and reflect. It should require effort. It doesn’t have to be unpleasant. Music, mediation, sand mandalas aren’t. OTOH, a little bit of non-pleasantness contributes to one’s moral fiber. By this logic, anything can be a spiritual discipline if done mindfully.
Enter my LEGO collection.
Many adult fans had a dark age. The period of time between building as a kid and returning as an adult. In my case, my dark age started when began riding horses [Lessons From BrickFair] and lasted for 35 years. When I emerged from my dark age, I did so with a vengeance.
As a result, I have a lot of bricks. Hordes. Multitudes. It will not be fun to sort them all. Sorting will include gathering sets that have wandered to far corners of the house, washing builds that have gotten dusty, and sanitizing flea market purchases. Just as painters would rather paint than prime canvas or quilters would rather sew than wash and iron material, I would rather be putting bricks together than stowing them in drawers.
Furthermore, many of those wandering sets, dusty builds, and flea-market purchases have become nuclei for attracting more junk, creating corners of the house that look as if we are auditing for Hoarders. Organize my LEGO collection means defeating these piles as well. Tchotchkes will be taken to the thrift store. Artwork will be hung on the walls. Boxes will be stored or tossed.
I will get my house in order.
That’s a reasonable metaphor for Lent.
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I thought about staying quiet on the subject:
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.”
Matthew 6-5 (partial), King James Version, Biblehub
On the other hand, public accountability may keep me going when my spirit flags around day 25.
Plus, it has been well-established that I will turn anything into a blog post. [Life As a First Draft]
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