Fasting... feasting...

Preparing your soul for what there is to come is like finding a dry piece of land upon which some grass has grown of its own accord. It's like falling down on that land, smoothing it out with bare hands and inhaling the smell of raw earth passing through one's fingers, biting into the earth and tasting its grains, then standing up, watering the land, sewing the seeds of life and rejoicing at it being grown anew.

Such is the time before Christmas, fasting to prepare for the feast that is to come.

Stop being so hard on yourself
It's not good for your health
I know that you can change
So clear your head and come round
You only have to open your eyes
You might just get a big surprise
(Take That, Shine)