February 2022: Making Positive Changes in Our Lives

Often when we think of Lent, we potentially conjure up words in our minds like “sacrifice", “sinfulness",  and “failure”. Growing up in a Catholic elementary school, it was a time when we were asked what we were going to give up for Lent - sweets, a favorite TV show, a favorite toy or game? As I matured in my understanding of the season, I recognized that Lent is not just a time of giving up favorite things - it can be a part of what we may want to do - but I began to see the season as a time to “reset”, a gift of a “do-over” of some things in my life. The focus of Lent for me became proactive, doing more than, rather than working with less or giving up something. That is not to say I do not welcome “desert moments” - times to stop, pray, and reflect, sometimes through daily Mass, praying the Stations of the Cross, or just taking a few minutes to read the Scriptures. Now, I see Lent as a time for all those things, but more excitingly for me, a time to change things in my life that I want to make better. It sounds lofty, but I found that the smallest things done daily create incremental changes that add up, so that suddenly you are impressed with how far you have come in your journey of change.

Having been in education for most of my career and a student for a lot of years, this journey of change and development is an integral part of the learning process. As we learn, most of us experience high points and low points - times when we know that we have mastered new knowledge and skills and times when we have failed to grasp the concepts and material we are studying. During those more challenging times is when we mentally reframe “success” in our minds and celebrate small incremental learnings using skills and strategies that we have acquired or are being shared with us by our teachers. Our pace for learning may be different from others, but the important goal is our understanding and mastery of the material. This allows for permanent change and permanent, constructive growth - no different from how we develop our spiritual lives. In the world of education, sometimes we get preoccupied with the various assessment rubrics, the grade point averages, the standardized test scores, and we somehow do not take full advantage of the joy of learning. 

Since we have created the Helena Raskob Arts Institute with a studio in the Patio, I have been listening to beautiful music in the afternoons performed by our students. I listen to them start their practices with scales (do I remember the Hanon Exercises as a piano student!), then sometimes review the same passage of music over and over again, taking it in measures and phrases, slowing it down for accuracy, then speeding it up to proper tempo. This routine continues each day for several weeks, until one afternoon, it is ready to be performed in concert. Learning has occurred, change has happened, but not without small, incremental steps of improvement over time that use the basic skills learned and practiced. 

Applying these ideas to our Lenten journey, there might be some simple routines we can adopt that will create positive systemic change we desire in our lives. In search of some examples, I came across a web site hosted by Loyola Press. 

I enjoyed reading the various suggestions that might help guide our Lenten reflection and incorporate positive change. If you don’t get the chance to read the article on the website, here is a brief summary of five things to consider doing for Lent:

So, while giving up sweets or a favorite TV show might still be something I might consider, for me, Lent is an opportunity to consider what I will do to make positive changes in my life.

May everyone enjoy a good and productive Lent!