This week two women divulged the same thing to me. And after telling me what the other echoed, they each added the same P.S. "And I'm not even Catholic!" Both had decided to give up something for Lent. In neither case was it caffeine, alcohol or dark chocolate with almonds -- but addictions from a deeper well. They were giving up psychic sugar: one forfeiting worry, and the other, negativity.

 

I love the power of this: a commitment of 40 days (and 40 nights) to cease and desist already with that which isn't working anyway. But the true power here is not in the will, but in the awareness. Suddenly, you hear yourself when negativity starts to slip from the ruby portals of your lips. Suddenly, worry isn't a niggling houseguest that you have to accommodate, but one you can make camp in the yard.

"And what about after Lent?" I asked my friend who had declared negativity off-limits. "Well, it's forty days, so I'm hoping by then I'll have made a permanent shift!" And her comment made me realize how much better it is to give up something for Lent or for Love -- when you have no intention of picking it up again when the clock strikes twelve.

Three years ago, less ceremoniously than these two women, I decided to give up worrying about money -- or rather, to learn how to stop worrying about money. It turned into a whole adventure that I couldn't have anticipated -- exposing old secrets, kicking all my "buts," and revealing the mountain underneath my worry molehill. The adventure turned into a talk that will make its out-of-state debut next month at the New Renaissance Bookstore in Portland. That talk is humming its way into a book, "Lose the Worry, Keep the Change. Peace of Mind as a Financial Priority." But in light of this week's events, I can see that it would have been easier if I'd started out with a 40-day test drive. There's something so can-do-able about that!

Lent has started, but it's far from over. So if you're inclined, let Lent lend you a hand.