Fast FAST!
For 2 years (I think) I would tell myself to refrain from going online in the internet during the Holy days (Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday) as part of my FASTING.
The internet is one of the things I really enjoy and I figured it would be better to abstain from things I enjoy rather than from food since that could be very easy for me. I find that I really don’t crave much for food during these days. Oh I could consume a lot especially if there’s noodles or pasta but there’s just not much desire for food during these days (maybe the heat is one of the factors too, gosh it could be very HOT during these days!). I also noted that if I focus on fasting from food that I actually tend to eat more (and become grouchy if I don’t eat) so I learned to just trust my body (when it comes to food) and think of other ways of abstaining and fasting.
Anyway, the past years I’ve thought about fasting from the NET and my system was telling me that it’s going to be one big struggle, yet as it would turn out there is no struggle! For the past two Holy weeks (i think) somebody stole our the telephone lines in our area (twice or was it more?) and I ended up not having a choice on whether to go online or not since there’s no way I could use the internet without our telephone. It made my fasting lots easier for me BUT others got affected in the process. My siblings got affected since they have a computer shop and that meant no service for more than 4 days. Our neighbors got affected too since they had no telephone service for a long time.
So this time I figured that I’d do my fast without affecting other people and decided that I would NOT go online starting Holy Monday (April 2) to Easter Sunday (April 8). I packed my portable PC in my bag after Palm Sunday and placed it far away from my desk. In the office, I had to open my machine to work and check my mail but definitely no surfing, not even to click on the attached link to professional and spiritual sites I’ve subscribed to (I clicked on one link once but was fast enough to exit before I got through). It was rather easy not to surf since I had LOTS to do from Monday to Wednesday. I wasn’t really worried about not surfing at work but more worried on whether I could survive not using my machine at home during the HOLY holidays. But time really flies FAST. My fasting from my machine is over and it was a good thing too. It is really nice to be silent during the HOLY days.
I actually like the HOLY week better than Christmas season. I find the months of November and December chaotic and stressful especially since my office is in Divisoria, the bargain capital of the Philippines where it could be so full of people, vehicles, goods and what have you during the Christmas season.
Except for the heat, I like Holy week. A lot of people go on vacation during this time with some people going to their provinces to join their family in the religious festivities and some to really take some rest and indulge in recreation and the beach.
In the office, they would ask me where I’ll be going for the Holy week and I’ve been saying that I’d just stay home and go to church for a couple of years already. I used to go with my friends during the Holy week but I find that no matter how solemn our intention is, we’d end up having some loud times too. I always enjoy being with my friends yet there is a part of me that would want to just be silent on this season. So for many years already I spend Holy week at home and church (ah yes, there’s always a trip to the grocery too to buy goodies for our Easter egg hunt which is part of our family’s Easter celebration).
This Holy week has been good, it was a bit tiring since we had to take in a nephew and his sister for a few days since their mom got hospitalized. It was not really silent at home since there were 9 kids (aged from 6 months to 9 years old) most of whom are hyper with some alternately getting sick also (due to heat and probably craving for attention). There was great temptation to watch non-stop the DVD of JUMONG, the Korean series I am following (my brother and sis-in-law were teasing me) yet I was able to refrain from it! Ahh yes, the family got to pray together, even the kids! It was nice for the kids to be silent (not really still, gosh that would be a miracle, I think) for a few minutes with some joining the prayer. And church, I really like attending the service and just being there. I was alone for the most time, oh yes there were so many people in church (it is amazing and awesome to see so many Filipinos going to church during these times and really heart warming to see families doing their Way of the Cross) yet I felt alone with my Beloved most of the time. Those are precious times!
So time really flies fast. Holy week is over! There’s still one more day before going back to work (good thing April 9-“Araw ng Kagitingan” fell on a Monday so that’s an the extra vacation day) but it has been a good week. And my fasting was real fast! I hope that the fruit of the Fast last long! Yup, hope that Holy week and Easter bears good fruit!
The internet is one of the things I really enjoy and I figured it would be better to abstain from things I enjoy rather than from food since that could be very easy for me. I find that I really don’t crave much for food during these days. Oh I could consume a lot especially if there’s noodles or pasta but there’s just not much desire for food during these days (maybe the heat is one of the factors too, gosh it could be very HOT during these days!). I also noted that if I focus on fasting from food that I actually tend to eat more (and become grouchy if I don’t eat) so I learned to just trust my body (when it comes to food) and think of other ways of abstaining and fasting.
Anyway, the past years I’ve thought about fasting from the NET and my system was telling me that it’s going to be one big struggle, yet as it would turn out there is no struggle! For the past two Holy weeks (i think) somebody stole our the telephone lines in our area (twice or was it more?) and I ended up not having a choice on whether to go online or not since there’s no way I could use the internet without our telephone. It made my fasting lots easier for me BUT others got affected in the process. My siblings got affected since they have a computer shop and that meant no service for more than 4 days. Our neighbors got affected too since they had no telephone service for a long time.
So this time I figured that I’d do my fast without affecting other people and decided that I would NOT go online starting Holy Monday (April 2) to Easter Sunday (April 8). I packed my portable PC in my bag after Palm Sunday and placed it far away from my desk. In the office, I had to open my machine to work and check my mail but definitely no surfing, not even to click on the attached link to professional and spiritual sites I’ve subscribed to (I clicked on one link once but was fast enough to exit before I got through). It was rather easy not to surf since I had LOTS to do from Monday to Wednesday. I wasn’t really worried about not surfing at work but more worried on whether I could survive not using my machine at home during the HOLY holidays. But time really flies FAST. My fasting from my machine is over and it was a good thing too. It is really nice to be silent during the HOLY days.
I actually like the HOLY week better than Christmas season. I find the months of November and December chaotic and stressful especially since my office is in Divisoria, the bargain capital of the Philippines where it could be so full of people, vehicles, goods and what have you during the Christmas season.
Except for the heat, I like Holy week. A lot of people go on vacation during this time with some people going to their provinces to join their family in the religious festivities and some to really take some rest and indulge in recreation and the beach.
In the office, they would ask me where I’ll be going for the Holy week and I’ve been saying that I’d just stay home and go to church for a couple of years already. I used to go with my friends during the Holy week but I find that no matter how solemn our intention is, we’d end up having some loud times too. I always enjoy being with my friends yet there is a part of me that would want to just be silent on this season. So for many years already I spend Holy week at home and church (ah yes, there’s always a trip to the grocery too to buy goodies for our Easter egg hunt which is part of our family’s Easter celebration).
This Holy week has been good, it was a bit tiring since we had to take in a nephew and his sister for a few days since their mom got hospitalized. It was not really silent at home since there were 9 kids (aged from 6 months to 9 years old) most of whom are hyper with some alternately getting sick also (due to heat and probably craving for attention). There was great temptation to watch non-stop the DVD of JUMONG, the Korean series I am following (my brother and sis-in-law were teasing me) yet I was able to refrain from it! Ahh yes, the family got to pray together, even the kids! It was nice for the kids to be silent (not really still, gosh that would be a miracle, I think) for a few minutes with some joining the prayer. And church, I really like attending the service and just being there. I was alone for the most time, oh yes there were so many people in church (it is amazing and awesome to see so many Filipinos going to church during these times and really heart warming to see families doing their Way of the Cross) yet I felt alone with my Beloved most of the time. Those are precious times!
So time really flies fast. Holy week is over! There’s still one more day before going back to work (good thing April 9-“Araw ng Kagitingan” fell on a Monday so that’s an the extra vacation day) but it has been a good week. And my fasting was real fast! I hope that the fruit of the Fast last long! Yup, hope that Holy week and Easter bears good fruit!
posted by elizabeth | 8:04 AM
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