testing… testing… is thing on?

Oh! Hi! <waves>

I’m still here.

I know you’d never know if from the lack of activity around here but I am. Probably, I’ve discouraged the last of any regular readers and the number of hits are on my stats are from spam bots and the like. In a way that makes it sort of a “relaunch.” Well, really the announcement of a relaunch. This post isn’t really much. Just a check-in. I’ll have something “meatier” later.

We humans spend a lot of energy in marking time. Anniversaries, birthdays and the like. New Years and equinoxes and all the things that come around and around and remind us we’re on this fantastic ride around the sun. Today, marks for me (and a lot of people around the world) the beginning of the season of Lent. 40 days, give or take, set aside for….something. We disagree really on what. A little bit. Some of us give up things; favorite things to simulate suffering, or bad habits to practice self-discipline. Others of us use the time to try to start habits; praying regularly, or differently or reading the Bible more often. Others ignore all that and simply mark the time with an extra hour or so at church every week for a few weeks. Maybe a soup supper with the congregation.

Whether it’s an inward, individual journey or a communal one — or a combination — the idea or hope is to focus on the spirituality part of our lives. The world hasn’t co-opted Lent. Not much interested really. Mardi Gras, now THAT’s a party. Christmas and Easter – with their proximal relation to seasonal pagan rites and celebrations, those are pretty worldly, too. You don’t really need to be “Christian” to get behind gifts, family time and chocolate bunnies.

But this Lent thing. This is just plain weird, really. Kind of stupid and foolish. But a lot of what we say, and do and believe in Christianity  is weird and stupid and foolish. And I’m not talking about the political wingnuts and fringe elements. I mean the mainline, middle of the road, common ground sort of stuff. I’ll get in to that more as the weeks move on here, but even just today — I mean what kind of a normal person puts ashes on themselves and spends time in a group remembering that they’re mortal and going to die one day?? Kinda weird by anyone’s standards. Doesn’t make a lot of sense unless your depressed or going for that teenaged goth angsty thing.  It’s only one piece of a bigger puzzle. One one day in a longer life. One chapter in a much, much longer story. Probably doesn’t make sense out of context. Frankly, sometimes it doesn’t make sense in context.

But that’s what we’re doing today. Go figure.

Anyway, I’m taking a break from short-form social media for the next few weeks and re-immersing myself in the long-form. Part of that means that I’m going to be working heavily in the archives here making much of this content private (or deleted) in preparation for sharing this site more widely with my meat-world community. Part of that means my goal is to post something of substance  here daily for the 40 days or so of Lent. Sort of my own NaBLoPoLENT. Beyond that, I have no real plan. You’re welcome to come along for the ride!