Eat, Pray, Love: Lent Italian Style!

I love the scene in movie-version of the book Eat, Pray, Love when Elizabeth is in an Italian barber shop with a friend and these old Italian men are talking about how we Americans are always doing, doing, doing. They talk about how every Italian knows the “art of doing nothing.”

I love it: the art of doing nothing.

Don’t you just smile when you read these words?! An image of eating gelato on a warm day in Italy comes to mind. Ahhh, my heart exhales and expands.

Surely THIS is a Lenten practice that can draw us closer to a joyful, fanciful, whimsical…and even downright wise God — the art of doing nothing!

As much as I am mindful of the number of activities our family is involved in, as much as Brian and I have made conscious choices to forgo some great opportunities in order for us to actually BE together as a family (including living and working in the same small town so we don’t spend hours commuting), and as much as I bring attention and intention to my daily life, I STILL find that I am a product of our culture! And we are a culture addicted to hurry. We are addicted to doing. We don’t value doing nothing, we value results. And I fall into this trap all the time.

But the times when I just pause for awhile and do nothing – from napping to just HANGING with my family – I find that balance is restored. I catch up with my own self. I stop and sense the Divine blooming, smiling, dancing, laughing, eating gelato (or JP Licks in Davis Square!), and exhaling ALL AROUND ME. Ahhhhhhhhh.

Ok so, one of my words for the year is soften — I’m softening my grip on that “results” list in my head and even just for the rest of the night (the 20 minutes that’s left of it!), I’m basking in doin’ Lent Italian style — doing nothing.

Now that is meditation. That is prayer.

Good night sweet ones.

A Lenten Metta Meditation

My friend and colleague, Julie Kaus, recently shared this version of Metta meditation found in Pocketful of Miracles by Joan Borysenko:

“May I be at peace, May my heart remain open,
May I awaken to the light of my own true nature,
May I be healed and may I be a source of healing for others.”

What a lovely way to start one’s day. I think I’m going to use this during my Lenten prayer time. Lovely images. I hope this prayer speaks to you as well.

For all us women in need of some spring renewal, there is still a chance to take part in the Women’s Spring Retreat next weekend with Julie (Friday Mar 18 – Sun 20 2011). Enjoy gentle yoga, ritual, meditation for women, nutritious food, quiet time, nature hikes, nurturing & reflective activities. Julie is a phenomenal yoga teacher and psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience in the healing arts. Visit her site for more info.

Lent: the classic question…revised

Lent starts up this Wednesday. For us Christian/Catholic folks that usually means we ask the classic Lenten question: “What are you giving up for Lent?!”

We say things like our beloved indulgent “chocolate” or our social lifesaver “Facebook.” It is a lovely practice to “go without,” to fast, a practice found in many religious traditions, in order to BE in and FEEL emptiness, allowing God (or Light, Love, Goodness) to “take up residence” in that emptiness…and transform us.

I think the question that comes up for me is not “WHAT am I giving up?” but rather:

“Does this draw me closer to God?”

Yeeeees. Does. this. draw. me. closer. to. God? If that means “giving something up” or fasting from something, go for it.

Often my Lenten practice has not been about giving up sweets or denying myself some physical, emotional, social, or spiritual pleasure. I can be a hard worker, the Capricorn goat pushing a boulder up a hill, taking my responsibilities seriously…too seriously. I have needed to learn to SIT and ENJOY and fully BASK IN activities and relationships that nourish me, that give me pleasure and deepen my capacity for joy. Yes, me learning to PLAY instead of work…that draws me closer to God.

So Lent, for me, has often been a time of engaging in a practice that is pleasurable and nourishing – to my body, mind, heart, or relationships. A practice that nourishes, holds, tends to, and brightens my heart.

This year my friend asked if I wanted to give up sweets with her. “Yes,” I thought, “I do need to lose some extra lbs.!” But then I thought, “Does thinking about extra baby weight really draw me closer to God?!!” And I knew the answer was “no.”

So I sat with what was stirring in me. What emerged: “Soften.”

Soften my judgment of myself and others, soften my approach to taking on the “to do” list, soften my talk and speech, soften my “pushing myself,” soften my attachment to future planning.

This “softening” is both a practice of fasting and of “taking on.” It’s fasting from harshness – those habitual ways of thinking, doing, and relating that are harsh and harden my heart, kill my joy, and push away the Light. It’s “taking on” a mindful way of thinking, doing, and relating that nourishes, soothes, and expands my heart…letting in Light and God’s tender presence.

So I will join my friend in “giving up sweets” not just from the motivation of losing some lbs. but rather from the desire to be “in cahoots” during Lent with a dear friend whose presence in my life nourishes my heart and whose playdates lighten my day. Every time I fast from a sweet, I will think of her. And my heart will smile. And if this means we have a day together of some “mindful indulgence” in chocolate, that’s just what the Big G ordered!

So…what will draw you closer to God this Lenten season? A phone call to a dear friend, giving up chocolate, taking a few mindful breaths before starting your day, giving up harsh ways of treating yourself, skipping to your car???! Do share!

* I’ll be writing a series of posts this Lent about the Lenten season as heart-stirrings emerge! Stay tuned!