Metanoia

My lovely fiance is going through the RCIA process to become a Catholic. RCIA stands for Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults. While he has always believed in the Christian faith, he has come to appreciate the more traditional/ritual based faith of the Catholic church. During this process, we attend a class every Thursday. Well two Thursdays ago the discussion was on metanoia, a Greek word. According to Wikipedia there are three definitions of metanoia; two I will list here.
Metanoia (theology): repentance
Metanoia (psychology): the process of experiencing a psychotic "break down" and subsequent, positive psychological re-building or "healing"

I think that with regard to faith, both are pretty adequate definitions, although the word psychotic might be a little much in my case. During the 40 days of Lent we are to look inward, discern our issues, and find growth (second definition) through our faith (hopefully) and the ultimate ending is repentance/healing (first definition) for our sins/failings, whatever they may be. So in this case, the second, psychological definition leads (hopefully) to the first, theological definition.

Why do I bring this up? I am currently going through my own experience of metanoia. In giving up my car for 40 days, I have had time to think more about my failings. With conscious effort and lots of support from my fiance and others, I am confident that I will be able to cope better. Truly this Lenten experience has been useful. By the way, I really love the way metanoia sounds.

Taking the time

Since I have an extra 30-40 minutes of commute time each way, I have lots of time on my hands. Since Lent began, I started listening to the Coffee Break Spanish podcast in the morning. My current research area is in Chile, so the time to learn Spanish is really useful, though what I have learned so far is a refresher to some extent. I am excited to learn more through Coffee Break Spanish. I have been thinking of purchasing the premium package just to increase my learning speed. Each Coffee Break Spanish podcast is ~15-20 minutes long. I usually listen to a new one each morning and then review older podcasts to ensure that I got what was trying to be taught.
As for the afternoon, I tried doing more Spanish, but decided that I couldn't take any more thought. I listen to music and just be, mostly. It isn't so bad. Once Lent is over, I will probably continue to commute this way as I don't get stressed out as much because of driving. I am looking forward to driving to social events again rather than trying to find the bus at the appropriate time or find a ride. That has been more challenging. Any ideas?

Weather

I love sunshine. I lived in New Mexico for five years and used to think, "Gosh, another sunny day." At that point in time, I missed the grays I grew up with in Washington state. However, since starting this journey through Lent, I have grown to appreciate sunshine. This has happened for several reasons. 1) It means the snow is more likely to melt. 2) Since the snow is melting, the sidewalks are more passable. The citizens of the lovely city where I live are a little lax when it comes to shoveling their sidewalks. This then becomes a slushy mess when the snow melts a little. So when it snows a great deal, it increases the travel time I would say at least 10%. Not such a big deal if you are driving, but if I am trying to catch the metro or a bus, I need to time things well. It is very irritating when I have to accommodate my schedule because homeowners don't want to shovel their sidewalk, even when required by law to do so. But that is another topic that I won't go into now. In any case, it is a beautiful day and I enjoyed walking to work.

Some tips on clothing

I live in a cold town. Not the people, just the weather. I think that if someone tried this Lenten sacrifice in a warmer city, it might be easier just because of the clothing choices. Every day I wear: two pairs of socks, long underwear bottoms, pants and two layers on top. I wear a coat/parka, scarf, a hat and gloves. I also carry ear covers, just in case it gets windy. The socks tend to be thinner so I can fit my feet into my shoes still. The long underwear is also thinner. I prefer Smartwool socks and Zimmerli long underwear. Both are really comfortable and I don't get ridiculously warm once back inside. Now shoes are another matter. I have been reduced to wearing my steel toed hiking boots or my leather clogs. This is for two reasons. 1) Wearing the boots makes walking through slush and snow a considerably warmer experience, not to mention a little less treacherous. 2) I made the mistake the first day of Lent of wearing my cute new boots and then walking home from Ash Wednesday services. Home is about 3 miles away from church. I had blisters like you wouldn't believe. Not having cute shoes is something I lament. I would love some tips on cute reliable warm shoes for walking in the winter.