Chocolate? Meat? NOPE! This Year the ULTIMATE "Giving Up For Lent" Sacrifice: FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE

The first year that I joined the millions of Catholics around the world in the traditional practice of "giving something up for Lent" (the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, although Lent comes to an end after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday) was in the fifth grade.

I had celebrated my First Communion the year before, later than most, but I was newly determined in my faith and went about celebrating and participating in the traditional ceremonies and practices with vigor and conviction!

There was no question what I'd be giving up, my greatest passion at twelve years old: CHOCOLATE!

My resolve was steadfast!

Our Lord had sacrificed his only son for me, I could give up CHOCOLATE for 40 days!...

That first day was torture!

I pushed away the dessert chocolate brownie at lunch in the cafeteria with the heartbreak of watching a puppy die!

Every Sunday my parents would pitifully offer me m&m's or other chocolate goodies attempting to assure me that,

"Sunday's don't count!"

Even then that idea was ludicrous to me!

Sunday's don't count???

As a good student of faith, even as a child, I knew the absurdity of the concept of "Sunday's OFF" during Lent.

Lent isn't about "giving something up" for the sake of "giving something up" that culminates in the "pigging out" and indulgence of that "something" on Easter Sunday...

There HAD to be MORE TO IT than that!

I found a wonderful resource while preparing for this article in Friar Jack from Friar Jack's E-spirations on AmericanCatholic.org.

"Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over... The goal is not to obstain from sin for the duration of Lent, but to root sin out of our lives forever..."

My favorite quote from Friar Jack on fasting from meat on Fridays during Lent as a way to create a simple meal to link us spiritually to those whose diets are poor:

"Avoiding meat while eating lobster misses the whole point!"


Surrendering the luxury of chocolate at age twelve and later in high school renouncing meat for almost five years in the spirit of humility and sacrifice were fitting and honorable for that time in my life.

This year however, I couldn't think of anything that would truly be a testament of my will and a sacrifice honorable enough to match that first day in the lunch room when I pushed away that brownie and the pang in my gut all those years I passed on burgers and hot dogs; but more importantly, something that would make me a better person for doing it.

And then one night when I awoke in the middle of the night wondering if I had a message waiting for me on mySpace and what everyone was doing on facebook, I KNEW what I had to do!

I'd give up mySpace and facebook for Lent!

A dear friend of mine recently exclaimed,

"The internet is the devil!"

Neither of us really believes that as the internet is truly a genius work of art and science where anything and everything is possible, bridging oceans and cultures and ideas!

What IS true however is that

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop!"

How many HOURS are lost each day randomly surfing the internet? How many more are lost finding out what your friends and family are "doing right now!"

Do I really need to know what everyone I know is doing 24 hours a day? What they are listening to, eating, reading, thinking?

I hadn't truly realized my addiction to the personal social networking sites until that day at 2am when I tossed over in bed reaching for my laptop aching to find out what my online world was doing!

Some of you might quickly counter claim, but what about twitter and the forums and all the other internet sites you work on each day!?

The key word there is WORK! Trust me, I've never tossed and turned at night wondering what the front page of Etsy looks like or how many followers found me on twitter!

And as Ash Wednesday neared I wondered whether I would truly be able to stay logged off of those sites.

I began to realize that my addiction was not only taking away precious moments in each day, but that the practice in those sites contributed to my own laziness = sloth, envy in the accomplishments and lives of others, greed as I put my time online above the needs of the people I love and my responsibilities... If I'm really honest with myself, I can admit that in some way I allowed myself to indulge in each of the 7 Deadly Sins in those actions.

So I committed to not only "give up something" for the 40 days of Lent, but to become a better person in my sacrifice here after...

I've ignored friend requests from my friends, cousins, and even my step-mother!

Smile when I hear "aren't you suppose to give up candy or something?"

I fall asleep in the arms of the man I love instead of with my laptop.

Enjoyed my first vacation in years without even turning on my computer to check a single email!

Spend my day doing the most productive thing for my business every minute of the day and when work is over, bask in the time with my family and getting reacquainted with myself!

Celebrate in the fruits of my labor as my work gets recognized within and outside the internet community!

And I look forward to creating that healthy balance that is needed in everything in life - 'cause the point is my friends is to be the

BEST VERSION of YOURSELF EVERYDAY!

siempre- dorana

Time Management - Can You Achieve Work/Life Balance?

I sat in a convention a couple of years ago and watched a gray haired man with thin rimmed glasses, a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt with red flowers and a bright green blazer nearing his eighties jump in front of the room and claim that every morning by 10AM, that he had done more in his business and made his family smile more than most of us in the room would accomplish by 6PM. I remember sitting there mesmerized by his energy and drive, and determination. He had reached success and fortune a million times over and had no sights of letting up on his life's work and unlike some other rich and successful men and women I have met, was still full of life and genuinely happy.

My grandmother calls me sometimes during the day knowing that I'll be immersed in my work and say, "There are 24 hours in a day, Dori. Eight for sleeping, eight for working, eight for friends and family..."

Bob reiterated those sentiments at that convention when he started talking about the key to his success. It wasn't a genius marketing idea or the best computer software program, it wasn't flashy brochures or business cards or the best graphic designs... it was his daily schedule.

Every night before he went to bed he would detail the following day first broken down into six hour increments and then to three, then to two, then to one hour and then into fifteen minute blocks. His jolly face looked up at us in the room so quiet that you could hear a pin drop! And then it lit up unexpectedly with his jolly laughter as he tauntingly said "first my dears, start with the SIX HOUR BLOCKS!"

We all giggled and listened as he explained how managing a detailed schedule and following it created a life of balance and expectations for both his business and his family. When he was working, he was working and wasn't feeling guilty about not being with his family and when he was with his family, he wasn't worried about work. There was a time for everything and everything had it's time.

He then detailed every hour for us to try to explain how much time we truly have each day. He described his first 6 hour block of time beginning at 6AM with his morning routine, how he first takes time for himself every morning - for his body and mind.

How often we go through the day neglecting how important the health of our body and minds are!

His hour on the treadmill while he listened to his favorite classical melodies or read a favorite book; the luxurious shower and the joy he took making his children breakfast in the morning and hearing about the schedule of their lives each morning!

The next four hours until lunch were impeccably detailed: calls, meetings, reports, call and wish the wife a good morning and wonderful day! Imagine scheduling daily calls to tell someone you love them! What could possibly be a better use of your time!?

I remember sitting there as he painted a ticking clock portrait of his day and how each task brought him closer to that final "tock" at 6PM where he shifted from work to home and family and friends!

GENIUS!

If that wasn't impressive enough, there was a detailed weekly account of chores and shopping, family activities, dates with friends and extended family... Every aspect of his life, business and family was given importance.

He had a lifetime of joy because he gave everything and everyone the importance of his time. His wife and children expected him to be working when he was at work and home when he was at home.

In building his business of course there were disappointments and not everything always went as planned but there WAS A PLAN!

I know that in my perfect fantasy world, there is this magical place where my business and personal life somehow create a wonderful balance.

Could we all find this mystical place and that infectious joy I witnessed in that man by merely planning out the details of each of our days? Planning the time for our walks to the park with our favorite four-legged friend, making lunch dates with our children once a week at their schools, a date with our spouse where we dress up in our "first date finest" and anticipate that long kiss at the end of the night - all while climbing that business ladder of success??

I hope you take out that day planner - seriously I know everyone has one that's collecting dust somewhere - and "first my dears, start with the SIX HOUR BLOCKS!"