I felt a bit lost by the end of 2025 – energy low, morale lower, the path forward blurry.

In moments like these, I look inward to understand what needs action and what needs patience. And faith – yes, faith – helps me look beyond myself, to find purpose that honors my journey and includes the people around me. The most precious gift.

This is what led me to 21 days of veganism paired with daily meditation on Daniel, one of the most intriguing characters in the Bible.

How would a Brazilian who grew up eating meat every day, now a citizen of a country that puts milk products even in the local soda, face three weeks of grains, beans, and fruits? To make it even more radical, I gave up coffee, chips, and sweets.

The idea was simple: to bring me back to myself, to not let the external environment dictate my inner peace,

I didn’t know how much small habits like an espresso and a small sweet after lunch would be the hardest part of the process. Something in that simple act of renunciation – not being forced, just choosing – began to shift inside me.

When I finished the last meditation last Monday, I felt such profound joy. Not the excitement of ending something hard, but gratitude for what those 21 days had revealed. I was already missing the challenge and the interior growth that renunciation brought.

I come from a context of scarcity. I couldn’t have materially everything I wished. I had to learn how to control my desires, to wait, pray, and trust. I also learned how to fight for what I wanted, despite the odds.

Life in Switzerland changed this important part of my DNA. In a society of abundance, we get comfortable – and the consequence is atrophy of the muscles of the heart and soul. The gift, or perhaps the cost, of a life without major struggles.

Allowing myself to experience 21 days of renunciation – of things I could easily have – brought me back to my existential essence. Maybe friction isn’t something to avoid but something we need: intellectually, physically, spiritually. Maybe comfort atrophies more than we admit.

My decision after these fruitful 21 days? Continue being vegan on weekdays and return to my usual routine on weekends until Easter. Then I’ll decide how to move forward.

And you? What have you renounced lately – not because you had to, but because you chose to – that brought you back to yourself?