Day by Day

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men", Jesus

Feb 20, 2026

I don’t know the year that my awakening began. Not an awakening in the sense we espouse in modern culture, per se, but a measurable expansion of my awareness that the world, the very matter of the universe, is more like a puzzle for which my itty bitty piece is critical to the big picture. I was awakening to the vagaries of existence, with the absolute certainty that while each of us doesn’t individually matter, we are all critical pieces of the collective animal experience of existence. I am, you are, a link without which the chain breaks. We A L L matter - from the tiniest, weakest, smallest insect to the brutal, most vile human destroyer on our planet.

Part of awakening is realizing that life has a purpose. Religions, even ancient shamanic and animism, speak of life and spirituality as interconnected communities, ‘bodies’ through which each spirit is enmeshed in the whole and the collective either levels up together, or withers away alone. Fifteen plus years ago, as I became aware of my ripples and sensing that my essence was in fact a key, I began to grow and blossom as a human being considerate of the life around me. I learned through study and meditation to float above the puzzle observing the world for what it is - the miracles, abundance, gifts, and abiding love but also the heartache, pain, failures, and atrocities. Each of us experiences the puzzle differently, but experience it we must and we shall if we hope to survive as an entity. There is NO WAY AROUND life, only through.

As the blinders fell away, my thirst for knowledge burst forth, not gently but brazenly with an energy almost visible to the human eye. Questioning everything, I began to focus on myself relative to the newly discovered universal soup in which I float. Being a Christian, I recognized Lent as a time to more voraciously comprehend life through six weeks of focused study. Despite our possible differences of opinion about religion and it’s myriad flavors, there’s no denying that prioritizing study and practice for six weeks every year would expand our consciousness in ways that the ‘as time permits’ approach of modern life cannot touch. I’ve experienced this difference first hand.

Oddly, a Lent-like focus is not for the faint of heart. Although there’s certainly much to learn, not everyone is comfortable staring into the abyss of their own consciousness. Even I started small. I bought a book that took an ‘add’ versus ‘give up’ approach to Lent and used it as a daily guide - 40 Days of Decrease. At that time, I simply wanted to understand more about Yahweh and the life of Jesus Christ but also experience the Holy Spirit. Over time, I focused on tapping into the spark of our collective universal energy vibration. I don’t remember all the epiphanies that first year but there was no looking back. All reading materials are noted at the end of this post.

Between Christmas and Valentines Day each year I notice a direction for my Lenten study. It originates from words (like support and forgive), stories, billboards, the news, my home life - anything really. This year I’ve gathered ‘day by day’, really moment by moment which I feel through presence - learning to live and love again. It’s to be a six week ‘conversation’ between me and the universe arising from my renewed faithfulness to all the guidance already provided within the past year. I’m attending to the rebirth of my spirit by clearing legacy energy. Some of this prior guidance - have the courage to let go of adult children because they are young men now, purposefully pursue local community such as a book mobile and a warming bus, collaborate with others and honor them by prioritizing unfinished group projects. While I study this year’s book, ‘Witness: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation’ about the characters of the Passion of Christ, I’ll renew my commitment to nurture those guided seeds throughout this year to come.

Two deeply personal commitments I’ve made to God for my spiritual growth are giving - time, money, forgiveness - the same grace to myself and others and I want from them. And, removing social media. As such I won’t be in the notes feed for the entirety of Lent, from Ash Wednesday through Easter Saturday - EXCEPT to share posts 1-2 times a week. I love interacting with my friends in Notes and in comments as much as I love reading your work. For this reason, I’m sacrificing it. The swell of vitriol across social media is counterproductive to universal community, spiritual or otherwise. I fully understand if you choose to take a similar break from my writing during this period. I respect that for some, friendship is defined by its reciprocity. Suffice it to say, I am not counting, measuring, or tracking anything this Lent. NOTHING.

Before I say goodbye for a bit, I’d like to tag three people to whom I subscribe. I share them because although their approaches are different, they each speak to the heart of humanity through their work. Substack has had issues with tagging multiple people so I am also providing their publication names for you to search on your own.

A Blunt Oregon Girl Wendy Elizabeth Williams

Mickey z. says Mickey Z.

Sparks of Light Trudi Nicola

Please take a moment to visit them and to enjoy Trudi’s poem and Mickey’s photos at the end of this post.

While I wrote this post in my head, I waited for a musical score to suitably impart where my heart is right now. Wednesday it came to me as I drove to my brother’s home for breakfast, traversing a Pennsylvania mountain range within which only Country and Gospel radio stations are tunable. This song sung by Lauren Daigle, about being present in this historical moment, played like an Adele anthem sticking with me every moment since. “If it’s not good, then it is not over” so powerful!

Listen to These Are the Days

In closing, I won’t bore you with diatribes about my past Lenten successes because yesterday is over and done. My growth during these intervening years included recognizing and diminishing judginess, solving relationship issues, putting childhood trauma to rest, learning to show affection, and eradicating addictions (to name a few) during Lent. Like a meditation, I’ve done deep inner work in the morning darkness while the house is quiet and the sun still sleeps, at my kitchen table or living room chair. I’ve done the work that makes me more human, a more empathetic universal neighbor.

I encourage you to share this, and it’s also pinned to the top of my site

Bren’s Buzz | Cori Bren | Substack

Godspeed to you all. I’ll catch you on the flipside, but please do chat amongst yourselves in the comments for the benefit of all.