Lent.

Every year at Lent I get very ambitious. I tell myself I will spend six weeks being wonderfully abstemious, prayerful, courteous, kind, thrifty, brave and reverent. And then after about 4 days, I fall apart and sort of chuck the whole idea of lent generally and donate money and feel guilty the whole time.

Yesterday, I tried to plan out my meals for Ash Wednesday in such a way that I would be likely to stick to fasting. I did pretty well, and avoided a few temptations out and about but this is mostly because Muslims are ultra-accommodating if you tell them you are fasting, not because of any virtue of my own.

For breakfast I had an egg on chapati bread with lettuce and tomato, for lunch a very small salad and a slice of cheese, for dinner a piece of fish and some sauteed spinach with chick-peas. I drank a lot of plain tea and water which got me through a social event with cookies and chips. Now at the end of the day, I feel pretty ok about it. I tried to pray whenever I felt like eating something else. I hope I will get better, not worse at this as the days go on. Pray for me??