Lent should be a time to focus on what is truly important - Christa Ackroyd

And it has usually included stopping eating chocolate. Because I like chocolate and I eat too much of it. If I have it in the house it calls me. If I don’t I will find any excuse to go out and buy it. Deny me it and I even dream about it.

If I am honest, I have usually failed miserably to stop eating it on both aforementioned occasions before a couple weeks are out. Such is my lack of willpower.

Well, this year I am giving up on giving anything up. And I am certainly giving up on giving up. Why? Because we are so nearly there and better days beckon. And that, for me, is what Lent is all about this year. Not about losing a few pounds in readiness to crack open the Easter eggs.

The past year has been like no other for all of us, and having copious amounts of time on my hands I decided to investigate the true meaning of Lent only to discover I think I have got it wrong all these years. Lent is so much more than giving something up as part of a Christian festival to remember Christ’s 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.

It is actually meant to be a time of reflection, a time to focus on what is truly important and to celebrate new beginnings.

So that’s what I am doing. Because that’s what we all need to do right now.

This is not a column about Christianity. Many religions include fasting in their teachings. Ramadan for Muslims, Yom Kippur for those of the Jewish faith. Buddhists often fast on full moon days and Hindus on new moon days. And there are more examples.

For all who take part it is meant to refocus our minds on an appreciation of all that we do have, not what we have to do without. It is also an opportunity to take stock and be thankful. Or as one friend described it to me in modern day parlance, a detox of mind and body. And that for me is a pretty good way to look at the next few weeks.

Which brings me to the discovery that the word ‘Lent’ doesn’t even have Christian connotations. It is actually derived from the old Anglo Saxon word ‘lencton’, meaning spring. And the actual word Lent simply means lengthen, a reference to the time of year when the days get longer and new life begins to peep through the ground after the cold, dark days of winter. And it’s happening, both literally and metaphorically.

The bulbs I planted in the autumn have survived the wind, the rain, the snow and the bitter cold and hold the promise of a great display of much needed colour just around the corner.

Farmers are already busy delivering or preparing for the arrival of newborn lambs, always my mum’s favourite sign that spring is well and truly on its way.

And in two days time our Prime Minister will announce what is being described as our roadmap to freedom.

There will be some who will say, whatever he announces, that it does not go far enough. And there will be others who will accuse him of moving too quickly. But one thing is certain, Monday will be an important day for all of us.

We are all longing to put the past 12 months behind us and welcome back a world where hugs are not banned, where grandchildren can be reunited with grandparents and those living in isolation for month after long month can begin to take their first tentative steps towards brighter, sunnier days, our first steps out of the wilderness if you like.

Forget enjoying a bar of our favourite chocolate, the things we took for granted have become our greatest luxuries. We have all discovered that having the newest car or the poshest wardrobe is totally meaningless. Covid saw to that and hopefully we have all come to realise what really counts, each other.

This time last year I was gazing at the wonder of the Taj Mahal before enjoying the beauty and tranquillity of Sri Lanka. I would now normally be planning our next far-flung adventure. Now, I would happily settle for a meal out with friends or a trip to the Dales with my family. But that will come soon, I am sure.

In reading about Lent, I also discovered that those who take part are encouraged to also be charitable, and for that I don’t mean grand gestures.

This week I could have written this column about the amount of unkindness in the world – about a postman who apparently told an elderly woman lying on the floor that he was too tired to stop and pick her up; or the negativity surrounding Harry and Meghan’s photograph announcing the happy news that after suffering a miscarriage they are expecting a baby again; or Amanda Holden being reported to the police for a trip to see her parents after a distressing phone call, when legally we are advised we can provide emergency care for the vulnerable.

And even Captain Tom, in his dying days, having to be shielded from hateful comments which would have ‘broken’ him.

But we know that these are not the actions of most people. Most people are charitable and kind. That, I think, is something we have rediscovered.

Lent, or the Lenten period, ends at Easter time. By then I am sure we will see a clearer, brighter future as we start to taste freedom once more.

Let us simply pledge to never forget the valuable lessons we have learnt along the way. And that is something so much more palatable than any bar of chocolate.