Day 13

Fasting is an ancient practice used to dedicate oneself to physical, emotional and spiritual renewal. I've undertaken various forms of a fast as part of my spiritual practice over the years. I find it's a way to help reset my relationship to certain substances. Ultimately, though, the greatest benefit is not about some object outside of me, but that I get to recognize the shape of my own hunger in the fast, my cravings, and my reflexes to try to fill some of my "God-shaped holes" with some material substance.

Although fasting is based in renunciation, it's actually a practice that's about freedom. Freedom from certain things that opens up room to be more free for other, deeper, more sustaining and healthy relationships. That's why the fast is ultimately not just about the self, but a preparation for the self to be freer to love more fully and more honestly. See, for example, this piece about a fast undertaken on behalf of those who are most vulnerable and invisible in our society.

We've been talking about clutter the last few days. How could a fast help you reframe your struggles with clutter, understanding the clutter--physical, emotional, mental, spiritual--to be an unhealthy relationship that keeps you locked into less than flourishing patterns of being.

I don't recommend any kind of fast to be entered into without some serious preparation beforehand. But set aside some time today for real discernment about how a fast could help you experience greater freedom. If you're interested, make plans to conduct your fast in the future. And if you want support, ask for it. Fasting with others can make for a powerful experience in spiritual community.