The season is upon us

The lenten season is almost upon us and I've been reflecting on what lent means to me and what practices should be a part of my lenten journey this year. I can't say that I'm very familiar with theological underpinning of lent. I've never done an independent investigation, i've only listened to what other people have to say on the matter and I've held on to the parts that made sense to me. The most recent thing to stick with me was that lent is a time to, "go into the wilderness," ...whatever that means. At different times of my life, lent has been different things to me;

A time of deprivation and, closely related, a time of discipline. (hmmm, as i typed that, i wondered if "discipline" and "disciple" are related words).

A time of giving up something as an act of empathy and solidarity with those who have no choice but to go without.

A time of giving up a desire, to practice gaining control of my desires.

A time to give up material things to remember that we aren't just physical beings, but spiritual beings as well...and the times when I want something, be it new clothes, chocolate, or a dr. pepper, are times to remember that those things aren't me, they're just things I wear or eat.

A time of taking on a new practice or habit (especially prayer, scripture reading, meditation).

All of these have been important to me at some point. At the same time, there was another thought about lent that has stuck with me. A wise person I know said of lent, "I don't give things up during lent. I feel that our lives are already filled with enough pain and suffering at different times. We already experience times of wilderness and lent, there's no need to set aside an additional 40 days. I believe God wants us to be full of life whenever we can, and to purposely deprive ourselves at this particular time on the calendar is not what God desires." (apologies to this person because I'm sure I didn't get the words right, but that's the general sentiment I took away).

I still haven't settled on what my practice will be this season. At this point I'm leaning toward a combination of things I've done in years past. 1) borrowing from the Muslim tradition, I intend to pray 5 times a day. I don't think there's anything magical about the number 5 or about the times of day that Muslims pray, but last year when I tried this I remember thinking, "gosh, this is a lot of praying." (the Bible says, "pray without ceasing" i think) It made me realize how little I pray on a regular basis, and while it was a chore at first, it began to feel good to check in with God four or five times a day.

My other practice is an anti-materialism thing. A reminder that I am not the things I own. For the next 40 days, I plan on buying nothing but necessities (which pretty much means food). I haven't decided yet how i feel about non-material but non-necessary expenditures (cover charges to a bar, for example).

I'm open to suggestions though. What are your lenten practices?