'Tis Ash Wednesday to day, the beginning of Lent. I'm intrigued to know what patrons think of the concept of organised abstinence/frugality as a discipline in our times of instant gratification. Whilst several religions have fasting as a core concept of enhancing spirituality, a number of secular movements have adopted the meme too - notably the environmentalists, for whom conspicuous consumption is often seen as an evil.

For example, in my father's time Lent was very much the Catholic ritual familiar to all followers of that faith, where all were expected to hold to one main meal per day, reduce or eliminate meat, and increase reflection and prayer. As I am not remotely as devout as he, my take has been to mandate the estates to reduce our energy consumption by 10% over the next forty days, which will then set our new benchmarks for the year. Remarkably, this has caused more grumbling than the fish suppers, but I feel, gets closer to the heart of the thing.

My point being that the ritual, however motivated, causes a change in behaviour that is ultimately beneficial - to both my bank balance and my greenie spirit - through going without, challenging habit, and respecting that God's gifts are not infinite.

Given that our economies are largely predicated on ever increasing consumption, is abstinence a lost (and possibly disruptive) cause or a vital tool for preserving a balanced perspective?