I’m doing it for the first time this year: giving up both meat and booze. So far (it’s been a day) it’s proven very interesting, in that it makes me feel like I have to be more intentional about very central actions that I had taken for granted – hanging out and eating. And in having to be intentional about those, I feel like I have to be more thoughtful in the quotidian aspects of my life in general. So besides, of course, staying in closer engagement with God, I’m also feeling more present in Earth. Cool. Engage with God, be present on Earth. I can live with that combo.