Lent 2: Roman, Greek, or Russian?

Here's the image that came up for me this week after a session with a client:

Here's the quote I put on my Facebook status recently:   

We are what we repeatedly do.  

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. 

~Aristotle

One is Roman (at least by name and clip-art), one is Greek, oftentimes pitted against one another, but this week the two had a head on collision in my life and then had a little Eastern Orthodoxy from Russia sprinkled on top. 

I have vivid memories of the orange bag housing our weekly loaf of bread (or 2 or 3) on the kitchen counter in my childhood home and reached for that "healthy" Roman goodness everyday to make a sandwich. This was an easy thing for my mom to teach us, so I understand why it became our standard lunch. To this day, my dad still eats a sandwich for lunch--maybe not on Roman Meal bread--but the habit has stuck. When I get into a funk or a rut, it's what I go back to. And let me tell you, given the proper tools, I can make a mean sandwich. I have had years of practice. I am an excellent sandwich maker.

In addition to the trip down memory lane with the Roman soldier, Aristotle got me thinking about the habits I have in my life right now. What is it that I am repeatedly doing, conscious or unconscious? I don't really want to face that question, because there are a lot of things that definitely have achieved a level of excellence in my life that are not necessarily habits I'd like to continue. Like emotional eating. And skimping on my workout. And avoiding neighbors because I'm "too busy." And giving myself away to others with nothing left for my own family. And closing my heart to those around me. And comparing myself to "her" or "him"--because they're so spiritual/happy/generous/wealthy/good looking/smart. And beating myself up for not being as good as "her" or "him." The list goes on...

After recognizing all the "wrong" I have in my life, I am grateful to be reading The Way of a Pilgrim, set in 19th Century Russia. It makes me wish I could spend countless days by myself in meditation and recitation of the Jesus Prayer until it is part of my being in the same way the Pilgrim describes, but that's not where I am right now. One of the things I have found helpful in my own situation, though, is the story he shares of an alcoholic who decided to begin reading scripture whenever he had the urge to drink. He was successful in achieving sobriety using this simple technique. So I think for me, when some of the habits of excellence I don't like very much come up, I'm going to notice them, give myself a little grace, and get back to the Jesus Prayer as a way of adding in a new form of excellence to crowd out those I could really live without. 

Thanks to the Romans, Greeks, and Russians for pointing me in the right direction. Excellence is just ahead!