Sacrifice for Success: The Art of Fasting

From my humble upbringing in the church, I was introduced to fasting at an early age.

According to a quick Wikipedia search, “Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day (24 hours), or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive, limiting particular foods or substance.”

This type of fasting is common among Christians and Catholics, with other religions having their own interpretive variations.

When I was younger, all I remember about fasting was being pissed about not being able to eat or watch television until 4PM.  As I got older, my new Pastor introduced even more relevant and restricted obsessions like Twitter, Facebook and texting in addition to dietary stipulations on meat, dairy products, desserts, etc.

Finally, after accepting that this practice was not some scheme to torture myself and my peers because of our ratchet dialogue that may or may not have taken place via social media or phone, I relinquished my frustration and began to investigate the purpose of this ritual for myself.

What I learned was, in essence, fasting is giving up something of habitual or addictive occurrence, to make room for reflection and opening ourselves up to hear from God.  A lot of times we are so caught up in our daily habits that we prevent ourselves from even noticing potentially life-altering signs.  Moreover, the practice of fasting reveals your measure of restraint.  No substance, legal or illegal, should become so powerful over your life that you cannot refuse it for a designated period of time.

Thus, starting this year,  I’ve decided to do my own fasting “experiment.”  I am going to give up 12 things that I love for the year.  So, every month, I am letting one thing go to possibly let something else in.

The first thing I could think of was Starbucks.  Anyone who knows me personally or follows me on Twitter knows of my slight (okay, borderline excessive) indulgence in Starbucks.  Extra caramel frappuccinos, white mochas, vanilla chai tea lattes are like, well, heaven! And the holiday season selection is even more divine; I feel like I’m walking down a golden brick road right into peppermint mochas, caramel brulee lattes, gingerbread lattes, eggnog lattes, pumpkin spice frappuccinos…

But I digress.  As I was saying, I’m retiring my Starbucks rewards card for the rest of the month of January.

And maybe I won’t get some great revelation this month by not stepping foot in the great caffeinated franchise.  If the only thing I get from this is an extra $8-$20 in my pocket each week, then so be it.  That, along with the self-respect of knowing I was able to abstain from such hallmark coffee options, is alright with me.

My restraint has already been doubted, mind you, which is even more incentive to prove to the naysayers that I’m up for the challenge.

With that, I’m looking for a few brave souls to join me! You don’t have to be religious or prophetic to do so. Maybe you just want to try something new to test yourself.  What’s the worse that can happen?

If you’re in, feel free to share what you’re willing to give up and why.  And I have no idea of what I should let go for February, so I’m up for suggestions!

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