If Lent is part of your religious tradition, you may have used those 40 days as a time to “give up” something over the years, be it a persnickety personal habit or a food in which you tend to overindulge. In the past, I’ve given up chocolate, fried food, and cheese. (Sense a pattern?)

Though I don’t keep the Facebook app on my iPhone, lately I’ve found myself logging into Facebook on my phone or computer and scrolling more than usual. I’m not sure why, but it has not done me or my creative life any favors. That being said, here’s what I’ve decided, and what I posted this morning on my personal Facebook page:

For Lent this year, I’m going dark on Facebook. I don’t say “giving up,” because I hesitate to imply I’m letting go of something which is serving me or others in a healthy way. Lately, I’ve felt a bit rootless: my sensitivity to the world–normally my superpower–has felt instead like a freefall. Like I lost my footing in a mountain scramble and I’m grabbing in the dirt for a handhold. Frankly, I’ve felt less capable of brushing off slights, of ignoring the crazy, and–most importantly–of extending empathy to people who may not be offering their best selves in the moment. I’m a nice person, so this makes me feel crappy, and I don’t like it. It’s a tough thing to navigate for someone who likes to be in control, and is usually very good at it. For me, Lent is a powerful reason to step back, to turn inward, to wait and hope and pray. My other Lenten decisions are my own.