As a child growing up in Catholic School, much was made of what we were “giving up” for Lent. There are actually three lenten disciplines that lie at the heart of Lent. These are fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving. This morning, as I drove the winding road through Norris canyon to my office, I pondered these tenets. This led to the notion of re-framing them as basic mathematical functions.

Add

What can I add to my day to day life that will make me a more compassionate, aware, and grateful person? There are certain phone calls I dodge. I am pretty sure we all do that. I avoid opening myself to long, drawn out conversations that bring a landslide of bad news. Listening and extending compassion are part of being in relationship with others. Sometimes the hardest spaces to hold open are the ones that belong to those who love us. I can fast from this kind of selfishness.

Subtract

What can I remove or subtract? There are many things I continue to put off. On a busy day, I sometimes try to manage my workload by making a list of the things I need to do. Revisiting such a list after the fact can be an enlightening exercise. Yesterday I was sifting through my old files. I stumbled upon a to-do list from Monday of Holy week, 2017. There were 32 items on that list. Left undone were these four: Call dad. Go for a walk. Drink water. Pray. I am ashamed to say that “Pray” was way down at number 28. If there is anything I need to subtract, it is dragging my size tens, and avoiding the simple things that nourish my body and soul. I can abstain from procrastination.

Multiply

How can I work with God to multiply the gifts I have received in such abundance? I am a person who suffers from depression and anxiety. Thankfully, I have learned that I can (sometimes) pull myself out of a tailspin by literally counting my blessings. The old fashioned way: on paper, writing, with a real pencil. While this kind of list-making is helpful for calming myself, it is not enough to simply inventory those gifts. The follow-up to naming them is to actively and intentionally increase them. I don’t have much money to share, but I can give back from my God-given riches. This can be an act of almsgiving.