February 19th - Lent

February 19th
I am grateful for the season of Lent. For those who are unsure of what Lent is, it is period of time when Catholics prepare themselves for Easter. Lent lasts for forty days, starting from Ash Wednesday through to Easter Sunday, with the exception of Sundays throughout the season. 

During this time, Catholics either give up, sacrifice or take up something as a form of penance or discipline, either spiritual and/or personal, being in reflection to the life of Jesus, whether is it His life, death or resurrection. This could also be a time to understand your own life and set yourself toward living life more positively. Many people mostly give up something they enjoy or find damaging or not so good for their life. Some examples are smoking, drinking, video games or gambling. As for myself, last year I gave up all types of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. I found I would procrastinate and become lazy just browsing through post and videos from friends and strangers. Giving this up, I found how much extra time I had to do many other productive things, such as completing half done jobs, discover new hobbies and just generally being more productive.

I am grateful for the season of Lent as it gives me an opportunity to learn more and challenge myself, giving up bad habits and gaining good habits, disciplining myself for after Lent. This year I haven't necessarily given up anything, but being extra mindful of two things. I will train myself to becoming more mindful of time, managing how to not waste time on mindless items or events, not distracted from conversations with people around me and doing the positive, productive things in the now, and I am also learning how to control myself to not over-do many things, such as food intake and usage on looking at my mobile phone. But my ultimate aim during Lent is by tying time management and control together to become more positively productive, learn more about myself and other, living in the now and not being control by external sources and devices, but rather so, to be in control of them.