Forty Days and Ways to Self-Renewal

Every year has seasons and celebrations. Just as important as the celebrations are the time of preparation for them.

In the tradition I grew up in, the forty days before Easter were a period of preparation. It is based on the concept that to renew ourselves, we need to create space by letting go of the old. Winter is coming to an end. Nature is waking up. It’s time to clean up our gardens and our souls.

The days are getting longer, tiny shoots are springing up from the ground; there is evidence of change all around us. Nature and the human soul are both moving toward a season of growth.

The celebration of Easter correlates with the coming of Spring – it is not necessary to believe any dogma to anticipate and prepare for the season ahead. An awareness of cycles of nature and their impact on the human soul is enough.

When I was a child, I gave up candy during the forty days before Easter. It was a challenge fit for a child. And there was the exception of Sundays; we could break the fast on that day. In the end, we received baskets of chocolate. It was a small sacrifice with a big reward – not only candy but also strengthening of the will forces.

The practice evolved as I grew and developed. As a teenager, I gave up habits like swearing or saying unkind things. To this day, I prepare for the season of growth and renewal. I would not want to miss it.

It is the time to let go of what is not working in my life including objects, relationships, habits, and thoughts. By removing what I am not aligned with, I make room for what is good and true to grow in my life.

I begin preparing by deep cleaning my house, getting rid of clutter and dirt. Spring cleaning is no longer a burdensome chore for me. I look forward to it as much as the coming of spring! Its benefits are many. Working from home, I find that the physical environment effects my thinking. In a clear space, I have more clear thoughts.

In my work, I am completing a new book, which is something I cannot do alone.

Recently, I realized that the publisher I was working with was incongruent with my message and values, so I made a change. Alignment matters. The book launch has been slowed, but I think the book will be much better in the long run.

My work is enjoyable; it does not drain me unless I pressure myself to do too much. Being a solopreneur, I know it is up to me to temper myself. I am responsible for meeting my personal needs while tending my business.

It is my intention to share myself from a place of fullness and overflow, so I lean into practices of self-renewal to fill up my energy tank. Too much doing, feeling, or thinking leads to overwhelm. I become enslaved by my own decisions. It is time to embrace the precious gift of freedom that I have been privileged to enjoy.

With that goal in mind, I revised the Forty Days and Ways to Self-Renewal that I wrote last Spring. It’s that time again.

You can do the Forty Days and Ways to Self-Renewal, in any way that suits you. The important thing to remember is the fourfold nature of the human being. We are physical, energetic, emotional, and cognitive/spiritual beings.

The Forty Day practice addresses all four aspects of our humanity. That involves tending to our: homes and physical bodies, rhythms and habits, emotions, relationships and boundaries, and last but not least, our spirits.

There are six weeks in the preparation period. Each week has a theme and ends with a celebration.

FORTY DAYS AND WAYS TO SELF-RENEWAL

Week one – possessions (Days 1 – 7)

1. Give gratitude for everything you have.
2. Gather up the possessions you don’t see as a part of your future.
3. Store the possessions you gathered up somewhere out of sight for one week.
4. Clean your house, including inside drawers. Dust the corners. Wash the windows and wipe down the walls.
5. Repair anything that is broken or set it aside and make a plan to repair i
6. Create a seasonal table with branches that will bloom inside, sprouted wheat grass on a tray and colored eggs in a basket.
7. Look around and appreciate what you have done to make your home beautiful.

Week two – habits (Days 8 – 14)

1. Consider your daily rhythms and shift your schedule if it is not working for you.
2. Begin a week-long spring cleanse, avoiding inflammatory foods like coffee, alcohol, meat and sweets.
3. Look in the bags of stored possessions from last week and take out anything you cannot live without.
4. Donate what you don’t want if it is still usable.
5. Consider movement. If you are sitting too much, increase your number of steps, get up and dance, or climb the stairs in your home at intervals during the day.
6. Make sure you are eating a lot of yummy vegetables on your spring cleanse.
7. Notice how you are feeling physically in your body and in your space.

Week three – emotions (Days 15-21)

1. Look in the mirror and notice what you like and don’t like about what you see.
2. Change what you can, as in getting a haircut or using a new moisturizer.
3. Notice what you feel good about in your appearance and accentuate it.
4. Wear only clothes you love. Don’t save them for special occasions.
5. Pay attention to what you say to yourself. Be kind.
6. Write down what you tell yourself that you want to release. Burn it.
7. Write an affirmative statement about yourself, as in I am a beautiful person and post it on your mirror.

Week four – relationships (Days 22-28)

1. Make a list of all the relationships you nurture on a regular basis including the one with yourself.
2. Consider the relationships that are the most uplifting and put a heart next to them.
3. Send a note, an email or a wish to someone on that list.
4. Plan to get together with someone you have not seen in a long time.
5. Create a picture of your relationships, draw a circle and label the groups (family, work, high school friends, spiritual group, social media),
6. Make a circle in the middle and put yourself inside it (your name or a picture).
7. Keep your relationship map somewhere that you can look at it remind yourself of all the loving connections you have in your life.

Week five – work (Days 29 -35)

1. Count how many hours a week you work, honestly.
2. Consider your work environment – add something to it that brings you joy.
3. Acknowledge the impact of your work on others.
4. Ask yourself what do you receive from your work you?
5. Consider how you recreate yourself, both active and passive ways.
6. Consider ways that you integrate work and personal life (i.e. walking at lunchtime or answering emails from home) and how many hours a week you spend in recreation (refilling your energy tank so you can give from the overflow).
7. Appreciate your work, how it shapes and gives meaning to your life.

Week six – everything (36-40)

1. Acknowledge your style or what you are attracted to as far as clothing, furnishings, and lifestyle.
2. In a word, how would you describe your habits – consistent, rigid, random?
3. Pay attention to your moods – are you generating feelings from the inside or reacting to circumstances?
4. Renew your commitments to work, relationships, and your best life.
5. Celebrate life – rebirth, possibility, and spring!

I am excited to clean out, let go, and prepare for rebirth this spring. In my mind’s eye, I envision rebirth worldwide, not only in nature but in the souls of mankind. Even in challenging times, it is possible to align with the forces of change and renewal to bring humanity forward.

It is a belief in the indomitable spirit of the human being that gives me this hope. All that lives in nature lives in us, and more.