Easter: A time to reflect and practice self discipline
A few weeks ago, while Localhood website team deliberated on our coming Easter article, another LocalHooder suggested we look into the sacrifice angle. We were told the week of Easter is a time to reflect on our own lives to act as Jesus did , i.e. sacrifice something for the sake of others.
l went googling and learnt that 40 days before Easter is the period of Lent. According to BBC, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days, Christians replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. CRU.org mentioned the 3 main things Christians focus on during Lent are prayer, fasting (abstaining from something to reduce distractions and focus more on God), and giving or charity.
For the sake of writing this article, we agreed to think long and hard what would be something we could “sacrifice” starting Ash Wednesday, i.e. 17th February. It was a very challenging process just to decide what we are willing to sacrifice for 40 days. We then decided to think about it from another perspective, i.e. 40 days of self discipline. At the time of writing this article, I am only able to get commitment from two other fellow volunteers while the others are still undecided. So here are our “sacrifice” and our update 2 weeks after Ash Wednesday.
Winnie Tse, localhood volunteer
“My bad habit which I will try to break for 40 days is touching my face. It's an unconscious bad habit since my teenage acne-prone years. Now it's more due to dry weather or finding something to do with my hands or thinking hard about something. See if I can break this habit for good for 40 days. It will stand me in good stead during these pandemic times.”
Lim Sze Yeen, Localhood volunteer
“Go OMAD, i.e. one meal a day with 4 hours eating time per day. After all that festive eating from December to Chinese New Year, I need to get rid of 3 kg before they turn into permanent fat. I am not new to intermittent fasting but going OMAD for 40 days in one stretch will be a new challenge. ”
In Pic: Sze Yeen’s OMAD dinner
Anna Pakula localhood volunteer
“I am a coffee lover so to feel it’s a sacrifice but not an impossible thing to do I decided to cut the coffee intake to one per day. Usually I drink 2 coffees, one in the morning and one after lunch which serves as a dessert :)
My second sacrifice was to walk everywhere, not to take any type of transportation to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases.”
After 2 weeks of “sacrifice” since Ash Wednesday, here are our updates :
Winnie Tse
GIF Source: Tenor https://tenor.com/view/pooh-think-gif-5059908
“Told my family about my aim to stop touching my face so they can help monitor me. This helped and also tying up my hair and keeping my hair off my face. However, I still catch myself touching my face when thinking hard. Like now, when writing this post....”
Lim Sze Yeen, author of this article and Localhood volunteer
“ I managed to shed 1 kg. Yeay! It was challenging when I had social engagements for both lunch and dinner on the same day. Had to explain to friends prior to our date. Surprisingly they had been very understanding and happy to let me watch them eat. LOL ”
In Pic: Only black coffee and water allowed while socializing with friends during fasting hours.
Anna Pakula localhood volunteer
“Cutting out one coffee was rather easy to be honest. I found myself drinking more green tea which was beneficial. I think I will continue that :)
Walking instead of taking transportation was quite a challenge as I often go to far places with my daughter so that was impossible to walk. What I did? I prioritised mtr over taxi/uber. Overall I found it much more difficult than I thought :)”
Sacrificing or kicking a habit is hard as it takes resolve and support from loved ones to sustain it. A tip is to tell your loved ones what you plan to sacrifice so that they can be your cheerleaders along the way. Some of us may be more successful in kicking a habit than others, but then everyone’s journey is different. After all 😊....
