Ash Wednesday

I can't remember when was the last time I had a cross of ashes marked on my forehead. Probably before uni, or even Stuartholme. Fasting isn't something we do so much nowadays and it feels so strange unfamiliar. The stomach is completely empty, limbs starting to get weak. You feel it a bit more when you read the recipes from the magazine of the person sitting next to you on the train, feel it even more when you walk past Maccas, which smells exceptionally delicious of bacon and egg muffin. But after a while you sorta gets used to it. And all of a sudden it feels peaceful, calming. At the same time you become a bit more alert, more focused. Suddenly you are chewing over every word that the priest says in the mass. You are listening better, absorbing the surrounding with all other senses other than taste.
I got asked by at least half a dozen of people about the Cross on my forehead today. Some people knew vaguely about Ash Wednesday. One did not have a clue what Lent was. Even though it felt a bit uneasy, it was good to have a chance to share my faith with other people, people who did not know God. The feasts of Christmas and Easter are now so highly commercialised people don't seem to care about their true meanings anymore. Is it really that hard to see past all those presents and greetings cards and chocolates?

I hope to make this Lenten season a time of love and a time of change. Change to be more patient, change to be more understanding. As for giving up chocolates, um...... do i really have to??

The city looking a bit different with the morning rush.

the ashes