The "D" in Advent

Lessons from Discardia

• The first lesson: You Need Less Than You Think
• Lesson #2: Most of the Rest of the World Gets By On Less Than You Can Imagine --The corollary to this lesson is You Need What You Need, But You Don't Need Much More Than You Need
• Lesson #3: Compared to Most of the Rest of the World, I'm Rich

The whole article is well worth reading.
HT: Running River Latin School

Below is a post I wrote on the Catholic Charlotte Mason list that seems to fit with the D is for Discarding idea. By the way, I seem to be having a "Ghost of Advents Past, Present and Future" type theme going here during this season. I suppose it all has the potential of sounding like a downer, but really, it's not, for me. Jenn mentioned starting to prepare for her next years' resolutions in Advent. She writes:

I'm going back to the beginning, starting from Letter A.
After all, it's a new Liturgical Year. This is when I like to make resolutions, especially in regarding with my duties as a daughter of God and as a wife and mother. For me, it's not the same spiritual renewal as Lent, where I'm purging, but it's looking at my "Plan of Life" and changing and tweaking. I'm not planning drastic measures--it's a short period of time, not even 4 weeks this Advent. All I'm planning is more focus on the interior while I witness the world's hustle and bustle of December.

I thought that was a great idea! and part of that process is reflecting over the past -- looking at my "Plan of Life". For me it is a bit of discarding of the old burdens -- fears and constraints that I don't need or want anymore -- and part of it is preparing to celebrate the new season. My very needy infant then is now a pretty healthy 7yo, and my 7yo then is almost 14 now and his clutter is more about sports equipment than about stuffed toys!

A magazine I was reading yesterday at that child's routine GI checkup made a similar distinction between "habit" and "tradition" in your holiday customs. If it's beloved and precious and really helps your family celebrate, it's a tradition. If it's something you do just because you've always done it that way, it's merely a habit and you might want to discern if it is really worth the cost.