Wednesday's Ashes

Next Wednesday is "Ash Wednesday" which, as many know, is the first day of Lent. Lent is my favorite season of the Liturgical calendar not because I like to give up chocolate, or fish or whatever it is people like to do without, but because it is the time of the year when we stand closest to what is true. It is the time of the year that begins when my pastor dips his fingers into ash, marks the sign of the cross on my brow and says:

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"

I take a good deal of comfort in those words because they strip away the facades I work so hard to build and they do it with simplicity. From the labels that stoke my ego's fire to the costumes that dictate the roles I choose to play, all removed. And the relief is almost too great to digest. Now if only I can maintain that freedom well into the year to come. Perhaps it might help to meditate upon the words of one of my favorite wordsmiths, T.S. Eliot:

Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still

Goodwill and hope to all.