What's so good about it?

Hello, lovelies. Today is widely regarded as a day for reflection. A day of quiet contemplation and prayer. A day where we can stop what we’re doing and think of all the sacrifices we’ve made, and plan for the year to come. But should we only be stopping to think for such a short period of time? Is Good Friday really all that good? And haven’t we all sacrificed so much already? What can this day really tell us about ourselves? I don’t know about you, but Lent has zoomed by so quickly, that we are only a few short hours away from the Easter bunny delivering all those lovely Easter eggs. And I wondered why it is only around Easter that we’re encouraged to stop and be reflective in our lives. Why is Easter all about chocolate eggs? And does this traditionally Christian holiday have a message for everyone, regardless of faith? And what really is so good about Good Friday? Well, Good used to mean Holy, and the Holy Friday lead to the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin. Christians around the world observes Good Friday as a day of penance, grief and fasting. The not good into the Good. But why is this celebration called Easter? Well, a 6th Century historian chap named St. Bede the Venerable claimed that the English word "Easter" comes from Eostre, or Eostrae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. Whilst many other historians maintain the ‘Easter’ derives from in Albis, a Latin phrase that is the plural for alba, or ‘dawn,’ that became Eostarum in Old High German, and the beginning of the English word today. And although it is a significance as a Christian holy day, many of the traditions and symbols that play a key role in Easter observances have roots in pagan celebrations, particularly the pagan goddess Eostre. But where did the whole egg thing come from? I mean, isn’t it a little weird that you give your nearest and dearest a chocolate egg? And those things aren’t cheap. It’s believed that eggs represented fertility and birth in certain pagan traditions that pre-date Christianity. Egg decorating may have become part of the Easter celebration in a nod to the religious significance of Easter, Jesus’ resurrection or re-birth. But what about the Easter bunny? He’s not partially Christian, is he? The exact origins of the Easter Bunny are unknown, although some historians believe it arrived in America with German immigrants in the 1700s. Rabbits are, in many cultures, known as enthusiastic procreators, so the arrival of baby bunnies in springtime meadows became associated with birth and renewal. So, it isn’t too much of a jump for our ancestors to see bunnies and eggs to be part of the new birth of Christ. And as for the chocolate, who doesn’t love chocolate, any time of the year! I can see what the historic meaning of Easter is, but what does it mean to me? With Easter and spring going hand in hand, I love that the days are getting longer, and we can throw open the windows and embrace the sunshine. And with our new year’s resolutions all but a distant memory, it is a good time to re-evaluate what we want, and who we want to be. A good time to renew who we are. But the thing that I have really learnt this Easter is that we don’t have to wait for the traditional holiday’s tell us to, we can stop and think about our lives any time we like. This may sound a little strange to most people, but I struggle to think sometimes. And when I do manage to switch off, all those different thoughts come crashing into my head, all at the same time. Usually at 2am. When I rehash all those things I did twenty years ago that I wish I hadn’t, all the things I should have said but didn’t. All those thoughts whirling around my head all the time. Why would I want to stop and think when I have spent years trying not to think about any of it? And how can I think about my life and what I really want when there’s a mountain of laundry to do? So, I fill my head with listening to podcasts, or videos on YouTube, audiobooks, anything! All while trying not to think. But when I spoke to my therapist about it, she very wisely asked me what the worst thing would be to happen if I did just stop and think. To just sit and think about stuff. Any stuff, it didn’t matter what. But would I know how to do it? To just stop and think, was it even possible? So I tried. I turned off the podcasts as I fell asleep at night. Off went the radio when I was driving in the car. I tried to stop putting in my ear pods and mindlessly listening to audiobooks as I when out shopping. And I thought. At first my mind took me to lovely place of far off distant lands, the deep blue sea lapping at the white soft sand. To me finally finishing off the editing of my book so I can get it published. And then on to the lovely and edible Jason Momoa. But is this what I was supposed to be thinking? Shouldn’t my thoughts be on a more practical path? Am I not just wasting my time thinking about nonsense? Why are my thoughts so different from everyone else? Was thinking actually dangerous for my health? Or was I just overthinking it all? But as the days marched on, I found that I now have the brain space to think about things like planting blubs in my garden. Normally I would have mass bought the blubs, compost and pots, quickly assemble it all and shove it anywhere, before dashing off to the next project. But I found that I was actually thinking about what should go where. What effect I wanted for my garden. I found that I had time to stop and write some Easter cards, and sent them off to my most beloved family and friends. Something I never really had the time before. That in stopping and thinking wasn’t this horrible thing that made me rehash all those deeply repressed memories that I have spent years trying to avoid, but in finding the space to create new and exciting thoughts of what truly is important to me. I’m not saying that thinking is easy, or hard for that matter. But for me it was something that I didn’t want to do. But this Easter, I need to sit and think way more often. Think about anything or nothing, it doesn’t matter. Just to think. Oh, and to eat chocolate Easter eggs. LOTS of Easter eggs.