Lent Calendar 2020, Week Three

My theme for Lent this year is the Road to Resilience. I'm trying to build and strengthen my ability to bounce back from challenges, conflict, and calamity. My goals are:

• Resilience Habits: Resilience has lots of parts - equanimity, flexibility, resolution, tenacity, social intelligence, and optimism to name a few. I want to gradually add in some useful daily habits as a practical way to grow in recilience.
• Fast from binge eating: I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow, and I think my binge eating has a direct connection to feeling overwhelmed by life's challenges.

• Educate myself: I'm reading the book The Coward's Guide to Conflict: Empowering Solutions for those Who Would Rather Run Than Fight.
• Inner work: Ground myself in journaling, meditation, and prayer to connect to my core of peace and courage. 
• Take creative action: Take decisive action on adverse or challenging situations as they arise, and use my creative super powers to grow, and make the world better.

March 8-
1. Journal queries: What have I learned so far from my Lenten fast and study? What is the next step to take towards resiliency? Ground myself in optimistic hope for the future, and become more open to the best actions to take.

2. Massive Bike Ride: My Climate Revolutions group has a monthly ride this day, and we are celebrating our first year birthday! Also, I am leading an idea gathering activity to inspire us for the next year.

March 9, Full Egg Moon-
3. Study "The Coward's Guide to Conflict": Read Chapters 7-11 this week. Also, practice charting out my conflicts, in order to find compelling reasons for facing conflicts rather than running.
Here's a paraphrased section from chapter 9 that gets to the crux for me: After a conflict, we have a several choices - 

• We can ignore it and have shallow relationships.
• We can panic, avoid each other, and miss out on a growth opportunity.
• We can hold on to anger and bitterness, lose trust in each other, and end our relationship.
• OR we can try to understand it, and do our best to grow from it.

March 10-
4. Climate Justice Town Hall: 350 Eugene is hosting this event to talk about environmental justice, and I hope to gather more ideas for next steps I can take.

From the Baxter Power Plant in West Eugene, rendering the soil unsafe to the City's need to adequately incorporate climate justice recommendations made by community members from the Equity Panel into the Climate Action Plan, environmental injustice is rampant in our community.

This town hall features a panel on local environmental equity issues, followed by breakout groups that focus on how climate activists can engage with local environmental justice issues. Together, we will share resources, identify and organize next steps to take together.

March 11-
5. Resilience Habits: Resilience has lots of parts - equanimity, flexibility, resolution, tenacity, social intelligence, and optimism to name a few. I've added some useful daily habits to help myself stay calm, and this week I'm adding a habit to help myself stay focused and tenacious, even when I'd rather procrastinate, or avoid the challenge.

Each morning I will list the activities I'm having trouble completing, or relationships I'm struggling with, and make a plan for how to face them with strength. I have these strategies:

• Find the smallest, most non-threatening step I can take and do it.
• Write about the pleasure I will feel when it's done.
• Set reminders on my phone.
• Tell someone about my plan.

March 12- 

6. Climate Candidate Forum: My chance to hear what local candidates say about action on the climate.

CANCELLED due to Corona Virus.

(Instead I got my Shingles vaccine and spent a day on the couch sleeping.)

March 13-

7. Make a prayer flag:

March 14- 
8.