Ramadhan Mubarak
It’s about halfway through the month of Ramadhan - a little more actually, which makes for a good checkpoint.
I decided, for the first time in a long time, to actually fully fast during this month - to abstain from food and drink from sun up to sun down, and I even threw in a full-time Coke ban just for kicks.
And you know, despite the 4am - 8pm days, it’s actually been a wonderful, wonderful experience. For starters, I don’t actually feel the hunger during the day - that’s the easy part. It’s the iftaari part that kills me! Who knew it would be so tough to say no to a second helping of dinner? Sheesh. Your mind thinks you deserve it after such a long day of working and not eating but really, the stomach wildly disagrees. Wildly.
But of course, most of us know that this month is not just about food (if only it were that simple). And, since it IS past the half way point, it’s high time I turned my thoughts to the more esoteric aspects of this month, such as focusing on the vices and virtues and that whole deal.
You have the standard ones that all of us are subject to - Lord increase me in my patience, tolerance, compassion, etc, etc. This month has definitely made me more aware of my shortcomings. I used to tell my students this and I fully believe it - we all know, at the end of the day, what is right and what is wrong. Every action we take, every word out of our mouth, every unspoken thought: we know where it falls. We really, really do. Sometimes we don’t want to admit it, but we know. And let me tell you, I feel it. Every time I say or do something that isn’t cool, it annoys me because I make so much of an effort to control the food that goes in and out of my mouth and then waste it on useless words.
Wherever this fasting idea came from - good job. It works, man.
I was thinking though - the food, the vices, I can handle that. But what if I had to go a whole month without something equally tangible and ever present, like…oh I don’t know…my make up and jewelry?
It’s a scary thought. A whole MONTH without it?! While I was on camp in Germany, I had the absolute bare necessities (it was like, if you could take one piece to the Island, what would it be, but in real life!) and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. I actually felt really, really uncomfortable in the jeans/tshirt/no make up look - it was a scary blast from the past that I quickly remembered I had left behind for good reasons.
A whole month without make up…the fact that it makes me shudder leaves no doubt as to what really enslaves me. I’m going to have to think about this one and get back to it. Might take while.
Coke, you ain’t got nothing on my Clinque.
