Lent in the 21st Century

Lent.  It doesn’t matter what religion you adhere to, or what your personal beliefs are, but unless you are a hermit, you understand what this word represents.  Now, don’t view this piece of writing as a guilt trip to remind people that Lent is upon us and we need to be practicing the sacrificing and no red meat on Friday’s thing.  Regardless of the fact that I’m Catholic, I promise to not impart any of my Catholic guilt on you, dear reader.

No, the reason I bring up Lent is because in my 27 years of existence, the world around me has changed, obviously.  The amount of celebrity gossip has increased, the general interest in politics has decreased, and the overall lifestyle of my generation is considerably different than that of my parents.  And that includes the concept of sacrifice for Lent.

Lent in the 21^st Century

For me the biggest misconception about Lent is that everyone feels that they need to do something profound in order to fulfill the spirit of the season, which is to sacrifice a certain comfort.  Think of it as a mulligan for your New Years resolution.  Now, having that mentality is great.  The 40 days of sacrifice is supposed to represent the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert without any sustenance, so it is an apt correlation that Christians fast from certain comforts for 40 days as well.

In discussing what they were sacrificing, many people I talked to named these very big, very general comforts they were giving up.  No eating out.  No smoking.  No drinking.  No TV.  No swearing.  The list goes on and on.  The problem, in my eyes, lies in the very idea of a sweeping declaration like that.  There is nothing specific, nothing defined, just a plain statement saying I’m giving up this.

Maybe it’s possible for people to do that.  To simply remove yourself from what it is you are giving up.  After all, temptation is only amplified by having what you are determined to give up be easily accessible to you.  Though, that could result in hermit-like behavior, and people would just think you’re strange.

But maybe the real reason people are turned off by the concept of Lent is because they fail to understand the very word that is supposed to represent the season: sacrifice.  Sacrifice is defined as:

• Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim

The common person translation would essentially be:

• Give up something important for someone who is of greater importance to you 

Just because you’re giving something up doesn’t mean it has to be a complete disownment of the very thing you sacrifice.  Just make it specific.  You say you’re not going to drink during lent?  Why not place a limit on the amount you drink, by saying I am limiting myself to one night a week where I can.  Not eating out?  Why not define what you allow yourself to eat, by saying I will not eat anything deep fried if do eat out.

Now I’m sure plenty of people are going to be up in arms about this idea of placing limits, instead of going straight up cold turkey for Lent.  But this is the world we live in now, and either way you look at it, you are still making a sacrifice.  Don’t get me wrong, having a very strong and resolute constitution is admirable in this day and age, but sadly many people, this writer included, often waver in the goals and sacrifices we set out to achieve.  So perhaps it is better to take those baby steps into what you are wanting to give up.  You get accustomed to it, are able to handle the gradual change a little better, as opposed to doing an immediate detox.

Regardless of your sacrificial preference, the important thing is still to test yourself.  Lent may not be the commercialized season that Christmas is, though fast food places certainly have attempted to make it so.  Fish filet Fridays at McDonalds anyone?  But it is still one of the most trying of seasons, regardless of your religious beliefs.  Last year, my roommate, a very devout atheist, gave up being an asshole to me for Lent.  No religious association with it, he just wanted to see if he could.  It is a season of personal challenge.  So this year for Lent, challenge yourself.  Make a sacrifice. Cut back on parts of the lifestyle you live.  And maybe we can recapture what the meaning of Lent is in the 21^st century.

*What are you challenging yourself with this year for Lent?  Feel free to post in the comments section below*

Taking the Sin Out of Sin City

So for the past three years, my best friend Tony and I have taken a trip someplace awesome.  Three years ago was San Diego.  Two years ago was Hawaii.  And this past year was Las Vegas.  These trips have come to be known as the annual Rick and Tony Go Somewhere Awesome trip.  The company Tony works for has a regional meeting every year, and they always get to bring a plus one.  I have been fortunate enough to have owned the 'Plus One' title for the past three years.  Since we have graduated high school, we have both gone our own ways in our education and lives, so it’s great to have these trips to enjoy the friendship that we have cultivated since he moved to my hometown in 4^th grade.

The great thing about trips like these is that we never know what sort of adventures we will embark on.  San Diego turned into a dance party with his co-workers.  Hawaii was being there a full five days before his meeting, where we stayed at a hostel and met some truly amazing people from all over the world.  And this year in Vegas, it turned into the most epic trip we have ever taken, which included meeting Evander Holyfield, me wearing a dress, Tony singing karaoke (he hardly ever does), and more memories than can be counted.   While Vegas might be known as Sin City, this past trip showed that it’s entirely possible to have the time of your life, without sacrificing your morals or your bank account.

Taking the Sin out of Sin City

When people think of Las Vegas, they usually think of a few words that describe the city:

• Gambling
• Prostitution
• Drinking
• More gambling

For the inexperienced traveller, Vegas puts a unique sort of pressure on them to see as many of the sights they can: Ceaser’s Palace, the fountains at the Bellagio, the canals at the Venetian, Freemont Street, the top of the Stratosphere.  There are simply too many attractions vying for your attention, that it is impossible to see them all and get the chance to truly enjoy them.  Vegas is the perfect playground for a person with ADD.

Now this was the 3^rd time Tony and I have been to Vegas.  While we might not exactly be veterans of Las Vegas Blvd, we have seen plenty of these attractions, and were able to sufficiently keep our wits about us.  Or at least as much of our wits as alcohol would allow.   Now even though this was our 3^rd time there, it was the first time both of us have been single in Vegas.  In the lead up to it, we both had the idea that we were going to own the strip.  Wingmanning would be added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a verb after we were done with this trip.  At least, that’s what we thought.

Our friend Amy,  who was out there for the 7^th time, has been a close friend of ours since middle school, and her being out there with us added a whole new wrinkle to what Vegas would turn into.  You know those people who have an energy about them that permeates through the room as soon as they walk through the door?  That’s Amy in a nutshell.  Spunky, spontaneous, experienced, well-travelled, I can honestly say that she was the catalyst that made this past trip to Vegas as epic as it was.

When Tony and I hang out, we are pretty much unstoppable.  But that’s what happens with anyone’s best friend.  You understand each others nuances, sense of humor, past experiences, etc, and it makes the two of you more of a dynamic duo than Batman and Robin.  Add Amy to that cauldron full of awesome?  Better have your camera ready because you haven’t seen anything like it before.

What most people fail to realize about Las Vegas is that what makes a trip there great is not how much you gamble, how much you drink, how much sun  you get, or what shows you see.  It’s about the people you go with.  As I’ve said, Amy, Tony, and I have a chemistry between us that is a system of checks and balances.  When one is getting tired, the other two are there to pick that person up and urge them to keep going.  We are each others cheerleaders, each others wingmen, and each others voice of reason.  Those are the people you want to spend your vacation in Vegas with.  Someone wants to go ziplining down Freemont street?  The other two are there to give them a push off the platform.  Someone wants to check out the Da Vinci exhibit at the Venetian?  The other two happily oblige because they’re history and science nerds.  Our motto for the trip was ‘Leave No Man Behind’.  Except when Tony had to retire early because he had meetings in the morning; that was mostly forgivable.

Simply because  you are out in Vegas doesn’t mean you need to engage in all the vices that are lined up like a buffet.  Want proof?

• The amount the three of us gambled COMBINED: $10
• The number of times we had a random hook-up: 0
• The number of times we went to a club: 0
• The number of times we started a dance party at a random bar: 3
• The number of new friends we made from said dance parties: 10

The thing to take away from Vegas is not how much you won, how much you lost, how many hook-ups, celebrity encounters, or cases of Corona you drank.  It’s about the memories made that will stick with you for the rest of your life.  Here are just a few snapshots of those memories:

The view from our hotel room 

Told you I met Holyfield 

Closest we'll get to $1 million in cash

Myself, Amy, and Tony

Told you I wore a dress (and no, I am not a cross dresser) 

How many times can you say that you've seen a Cirque de Soleil show, started a dance party at New York New York, sang acoustic karaoke, gotten lost on Las Vegas Blvd, found your friends, hung out until 5AM, and did all that in one night while wearing a dress?  If so, my hat is off to you.  Not trying to sound too cliche, but I guess 3^rd time really is the charm.  Even though I know I will go out to Vegas more times in the future, I don’t know if any will be able to top the time we took the Sin out of Sin City.

What are your experiences that have been elevated into the upper echelon of your memories?  Feel free to post in the comment section below.