Positive Fasting

We are into our first full week of Lent. Is there a difference visible to us and to others, that this is a special season, and we are taking advantage of it to live our faith? So many of the old, structured restrictions have been relaxed. For example, we fast only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We abstain from meat on Fridays, but substitute a good fish or vegetarian meal. Where's the sacrifice? We watch as much TV as ever and our daily routine hardly seems impacted at all by the season. Keeping in mind the need to fast, perhaps we can work on our minds and tongues, purging judgmental thoughts and words and replacing them with more positive realizations that everyone is a child of God, and that words of praise and encouragement go much further than gossip or whining. We can make silence work for us, instead of constant babbling in our prayers, and LISTEN to the voice of Jesus, who longs to communicate with us. We can "do without" that Dunkin Donut or Coffee and save a bundle over 40 days. The poor who come to Lazarus House could benefit from our "sacrifice". With the backdrop of the catastophe in Japan, we might find motivation for added generosity to the Red Cross, which is in the midst of the rubble. These few examples, and others that might come to mind can make our fasting a positive benefit to others, as well as to ourselves.
Bro. Rene