This year lent is encouraging me to simplify. It is showing itself in a number of ways, none of which are proving to be very simple! Here are a few examples.
The ability to simplify is to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary can speak (Hans Hofmann)
Clutter. I live at high speed and my desk and office are often the receptacle of one file whilst I rush to grab the next one and move on to the next meeting. Whilst I can usually find what I need, I can get buried under all the varied roles and responsibilities I hold. Embracing the discipline of completing a task before starting the next is one of my practices for lent.
Responsibility. I have a wide variety of responsibilities. In lent I am choosing ways to let go of some of the responsibilities that I do not need to carry, even when that means that a task will not get done.
Time. I can feel short of time to ‘fit my life into my life’. Simplifying is prompting me to take up slower practices; whether in prayer, in hobbies, in conversations. Time is opening up!
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