Well, it's February, and you know what that means.

That's right-Lent.

It seems like just yesterday I gave up [habit] for the 40-day annual season of fasting and prayer last year, but here it is almost time again.

What's that you say? You don't know what Lent is?

Read on. Because I think it's time we westerners, religious and nonreligious alike, took another look at this whole self-denial thing.

But first, some background. Lent is a 40-day period that runs from Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22 this year) to the day before Easter Sunday (April 7), which is actually 46 days, but Sundays don't count.

In the Christian tradition, the purpose of the season has been to prepare believers-through selfdenial, prayer and giving to the poor-for Good Friday and Easter, which annually mark the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Over the centuries, the selfdenial and fasting component have ranged from not eating anything till evening (Ramadanstyle) to eschewing certain foods like meat and dairy.

While specific rules still apply in some churches today, Christians who observe Lent nowadays usually just "give up" something for the 40 days, like coffee or chocolate.

Now, I don't actually attend a church that observes Lent (or any church, for that matter) but last year I thought I'd give "giving something up" a try.

It's not that my [habit] is out of control or what I would consider immoral or anything; I just wanted to see what would happen if I denied myself this little pleasure for 46 days. (I counted the Sundays.)

As westerners, there are a lot of little things we don't want to give up-they're available and they soothe us and there's nothing wrong with them anyway, we say.

From shopping to porn and TV to smoking, these are the little indulgences that "get us through the day," and whatever harm comes with them is happening so gradually we can easily ignore it.

Some might argue that selfdenial is downright unnatural.

I agree with that (kind of) and that's why I think Lent is such a great idea.

Naturally speaking, we are very efficient organisms, our brains included.

They don't waste time on a lot of neural pathways for things we don't do very often, like flossing and organizing the recycling.

They wire for behaviours we repeat over and over again so we don't have to think about them, like flicking on the TV as soon as we get home.

Now, this might be efficient, but it doesn't sit right with the freedom-loving part of me that takes pride in being a sentient and autonomous human and not an instinct-driven dog that salivates involuntarily every time someone rings a bell.

Giving up [habit] for Lent really drove that point home.

Two things happened during my 46-day "fast."

First, I got to re-evaluate objectively whether [habit] was really worth the precious mortality I spend on it.

Second, it cornered me into thinking and making decisions when I would otherwise just click into autopilot.

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing the neural pathways laid down for [habit] were considerably weakened after 46 days, freeing me up to rewire my brain for a new and healthier habit, like compulsive pilates or yoga-ya, right.

Whether you think about it as a rewiring of your neural pathways or a spiritual cleansing, I say a period of self-denial like Lent is good for us.

To quote Sister Julie and her blog entry "Why Lent Rocks" on anunslife.org:

"Fasting is not about denial but about freedom . . . freeing ourselves from the things that bind us and keep us from right relationships with ourselves, with others, with creation . . ."

Right on, sister.

cnaylor@chilliwacktimes.com