A Better Ascetic Discipline

I'm about a month late on New Year's Resolutions, but have finally embarked on the same one I've had for years on end: losing weight. Oh wait, I'm supposed to say "improving my health," or something like that, but I'm not into b.s. these days.

So, one week into a new regime, and I'm doing okay. I can't say if I've lost weight or not because I don't have a scale- I could only find a $50 version, and I refuse to spend more than $25 on an instrument of torture. However- I do have a tape measure that is happy to report a waist that is 1 inch smaller than last week.

Wahoo! Me like tape measure. So do the felines- they think it's a toy and "let's measure Mom" is a game, as the scratches on my ankles will attest.

The hallmarks of the regime are thus:

Drinking H20 & not drinking pop.
Omitting those much-vilified trans fats.
Exercise.
Eating fruits and veggies in large quantities. Especially in raw form for all those nutrients, fiber grams, blah blah blah.

It's this last that's a chore. I honestly don't like fruits and veggies. Or at least, not enough to make the washing and chopping annoyance worthwhile. But the thing is- if you want to be healthy, you have to eat them. It doesn't matter if that pear or celery stick leaves you uninspired- you have to eat it or its cousin. You simply can't get out of it.

The only comfort is variety. So if I have to eat this dumb nectarine, then at least I know I don't have to have another one tomorrow.

Oh... and that one inch smaller feels nice, too.

New Ascetic Discipline?

I wonder- is singing hymn texts that infuriate you an ascetic discpline?

Last night at Vespers, we sang verses to the Ven. Mark of Ephesus (instead of St Macarius of Egypt, who is listed first in commemorations) at the instruction of my priest.

Now, from time to time, texts come up that either confuse me or give me pause, but in general they don't irritate me too much. This is the first time the thought entered my mind to refuse to sing something.

The reason- some of the texts contained what I consider to be "Catholic bashing."

For those of you who don't know much about St Mark of Ephesus, the main thing he is remembered for is resolutely opposing reunification with the Roman church at the Council of Florence (1400's) because the union rested on theological compromise and political need (the East wanted help from the West to resist the encroaching Muslim invaders). St Mark refused to allow Orthodox theology to be compromised, even though the other Orthodox delegates signed the document of unity.

Now- let me state clearly that I do not call into question the rightness of calling Mark of Ephesus a saint or the goodness of preserving truth from compromise out of "necessity." I was perfectly happy to call Mark, "the fiery preacher of piety, the lone and brave guardian of the Orthodox truths...the most wise and most excellent defender and inspired theologian..." (First sticheron at "Lord, I call...").

But I balk at praising him as the "cautery of the West, the defeat of evil-doctrined Latins" and calling certain Catholics "half-beasts, half-men" and "pope-worshippers."

I'm all for resisting alteration or compromise to doctrine, and I firmly agree with the teachings of the Orthodox Church that certain Roman Catholic dogmas are incorrect. But I see no reason to bash the faithful of that church- that kind of talk will get us nowhere, fast.

Poem about Hope

Small, persistent little flame.

Despite rain and wind,

it insists on living.

I don't remember giving it fuel or oxygen,

but there it is:

small, shy, bright.