calm Sunday

Abstaining is not my strong point. I have healthy appetites. I try to avoid puritanism. But I'm realising that fasting is not about abstaining, it's about making room in my life for the best things in life.

Yesterday was Sunday and I did my machinery fast again. At sundown it's absolute bliss to turn off the computer, the modem, the router, the Telewest box, the washing machine, the oven... Not a single humming machine in earshot. (Persuading my au pair to go without internet access for 24 hours was tricky. I managed to get her to turn the modem off by 10am on Sunday - good thing too as the World Health Organisation knows that low levels of electromagnetic energy are OK, but no one has actually done the research in to what high levels of electromagnetic energy do to the body, and I suspect that it will be as with mobile phones. Personally I make very sure my modem and wireless router are switched off every night, though there's not much I can do about the five wireless networks from neighbouring flats that my computer informs me are circulating my apartment.)

After last week's emergency sheet washing marathon (sick toddler - don't ask), this week was better: I spent the day alone quietly resting and trying to tune in to myself and to God. I went to mass, had a little lunch that I'd prepared the night before and popped in for a chat with a neighbour. It slightly foundered towards the end of the afternoon when I set the dishwasher off and went for a walk via a clothing shop, but on the whole it was pretty restful both for me and my gadgets. Today I feel full of enthusiasm and verve and I can't wait to get on with the day.

Taking a rest is the beautiful key to renewal. If we gave the earth a rest it might have time to renew itself. I do wish I could persuade my neighbours of the value of Keeping Sunday Special though. It was so frustrating to walk down to my local high street and see all the cars tearing about. The noise levels were high, the shops were all open. There were still fewer people on the streets than normal, but other than that it was just like a wan version of any other day. We need to learn to rest.

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Pancake Day. After that comes Ash Wednesday, and then Lent. It's belt tightening time, when for 40 days Christians give up luxuries and give the money they have saved to the poor. This is the time to seek God within and to defeat the self indulgence instinct. A great meditation tool online is http://www.sacredspace.ie St Ethelburga's are doing a four part Lenten Journey of Reconciliation

Lots of people give up chocolate, but you might give up driving the car, or even clothes shopping. You might give up throwing food out: Try the Cooking by Numbers site to use up what's in the fridge. Given the news this morning that it may be too late to stop the ice caps melting and millions drowning, let's give up polluting the atmosphere for Lent? The Irish bishops are telling their flocks to give up alcohol. The idea is to 'be filled with the Holy Spirit' instead, but I regret to say that of late my sense of being overflowing with the grace of God has been lacking. Hopefully Lent will remedy that.

The money saved could go to The Cardinal Hume Centre and Actionaid. Two excellent charities. The former looks after the homeless of south London and helps them find their way in life, the latter is probably the best of the overseas aid charities. I also greatly admire EIA I don't pay heed to the endless charity begging letters that come through my door. They all, without fail, go in the bin, because I think you can go a little crazy if you start considering each one on it's merits. Nor do I give out money on the street. Street collections are for lazy people who never bother to give to charity and have to be cajoled into it. I think one should put 5% of one's income into direct debits to support two or so chosen charities, and Gift Aid it.

an easy way to solve climate change

I was going to post this on Sunday, when I thought of it, but I was busy doing nothing!

In as little as ten years according to some estimates, London could be submerged under 200 foot of water. Not to mention poor old Bangladesh!

It's a pretty intimidating challenge, but at a time like this above all have faith. Do not worry about this.

One solution that has been overlooked because it is perhaps not as sexy as say, driving a Prius, or eating organic food, is one that the Orthodox Jews could tell us all about: Respecting the Sabbath. If we all rested on the seventh day it would give the earth time to regenerate. Just switch off your machines, stop running around like a mad thing and chill out. Spend the time sleeping, talking to friends, praying (which is simply talking to the ultimate Friend) sitting in silence, or going for a nice long walk. Revel in quietness. On no account use the time to catch up on work or go shopping. You'll feel better for it and so will the planet.

The highly respected editor of Resurgence Magazine, Satish Kumar, first proposed widespread observance of a day of rest and This is genius. Nothing would be easier to do than to do nothing once a week, and if we all did nothing it would make an extraordinary difference to our planet, not to mention the sanity of mankind.

The green movement seems to have got mixed up with voices crying in the desert saying 'Become carbon neutral or be damned!' I think it's a slightly deranged and unhelpful message. Why not suggest something achievable: Try taking a day of rest for the planet.

For an account of the Orthodox Jewish observance of the Sabbath, you could read the superlative novel Disobedience by Naomi Alderman. Not that I'm suggesting we all go as far as the Orthodox Jews (Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, after all) but it's a fantastic novel and you would enjoy it anyway. I trust that any Jewish readers will feel free to comment on my somewhat ignorant understanding of Sabbath observance.

How to have abundant time...

Well, maybe not, but he is a genius nonetheless. I have adopted Mark Forster's filing system and there is something strangely comforting about it. You just file everything in its proper place, but at the front of the file, so that the thing you used most recently is the thing at the front. Also when looking for things on your computer you click the date modified column, so that the things you worked on most recently come to the fore. Works brilliantly. Mark Forster's blog

Happy St Nicholas Day!

How fitting that Gordon Brown is announcing a cash injection for schools today. A much better present than sweets!