I don’t think I’m going to shock anyone when I say that sometimes, non-religious people piggyback on the porcine derriere of religious rituals and festivals. Living in a country where the main religion is Christianity, I can easily document several examples: just look at Christmas (gifts), Easter (eggs) and The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (wait… what?!?).
Anyway, one more of those example would be Lent, whereby Christians observe 40 days of sacrifice to recognise the period which the Gospels record that Jesus spent fasting at the start of his ministry. Amateurs and non-believers usually use it as an opportunity to restart their failed New Year diet before comprehensively refailing it again at Easter (eggs).
This year – ok, especially this year – this meme from the popular Star Trek series seems just very apt:
The sun is shining, and the birds are singing outside. But I can only hear them because there’s no other sound because the power is off again. And one day, it probably won’t come back on.
And so, one plans an escape, but honestly, Where Are We Going?
Bed. I think that’s the answer. I’m going to bed. Wake me up in 40 days.