Lent

I am not Catholic and I don't believe that you have to be in order to participate in Lent, although everyone knows it as a Catholic tradition.  It actually sort of offends me when people gawk at the fact that I do Lent and proclaim "Wait, You're not even Catholic!"  I am a Christian and I believe that all Christians, Catholic or Protestant, should have the right to participate in this ritual which I find to be one of the best things you could do to bring you closer to God every year.  In fact, I don't care if you aren't a Christian, I believe that this tradition could make all people better as human beings.

If you are unfamiliar with the tradition of Lent, it is a 40 day long event in which Christians remember the time Jesus spent 40 days in the desert enduring the temptations of Satan.  It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the weekend of Easter in which we observe Christ's crucifixion (Good Friday) and His rise from the tomb and victory over Satan (Easter Sunday).  During Lent Christians traditionally give up something, do something to bring them closer to God, and also participate in charitable acts.

Now, I know if you are reading this and are not Christian, you are probably saying, well this doesn't apply to me, it's a religious tradition.  Well, yes, this is true, it is a religious tradition, however, there's no way you can argue with me that being more selfless and giving to others will make you a worse person.  So call it what you want, even leave out the part about "doing something that will bring you closer to God," but I think all people should consider partaking is something like this at least once a year, if not more!

I'm by no means a Bible thumper, I have lots of friends that are Buddhist, athiest, agnostic, etc. (well I don't know any Scientologists, thank God), so I am not trying to push my beliefs on anyone, I am just making a suggestion that instead of mocking this tradition you maybe give it a spin and see where it takes you.  We need to do whatever we can to make this world a better place to exist in while we're here.