The Month of Ramadhan

go slow but steadfast

Salam,

Ramadhan’s here. It’s the time of the year where my meal times are dictated by daylight (to be accurate, the absence of daylight). It’s a time to curb the excesses of my everyday life, conserve energy and be a lot more mindful of my actions. It’s a time to look inward and focus on the Essence.

What is Ramadhan? The word Ramadhan (رَمَضَان) itself comes from the Arabic root R-M-Ḍ (ر-م-ض) "scorching heat". But the way it  is practiced, Ramadhan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. During this month, muslims around the globe engage in a month of fasting, abstinence and prayer.

The fast begins from dawn to dusk. I can have my meals after sunset and in the early hours before sunrise, but never when the sun is in the sky. My speculation is that because Islam emerged from the Middle East, a particularly blazing hot month necessitates fasting. To ration food and water, and to conserve activity. Wait, wasn’t there a recent movie about a desert tribe that conserves water?

During the fast, or sawm, there is a strict observation to abstain from food, water, indulgences and expedient pleasures e.g. no sex and smoking. There is also an encouragement to be mindful of our thoughts, feelings and actions.

I recall as a kid, it was told that the devils are gathered by the angels and locked up in hell. I guess it’s a way to get kids to behave. As there is no secret adversary whispering in the hearts of men and tempting them to sin, any misbehavior on my part means I am the devil. 😈

So, I am faced with constraints on my time, energy, behavior and access to certain resources. The key to making it through Ramadhan is by directing my attention inwards. It is encouraged to pray more, pray with more people and pray more mindfully too.

By imposing a constraint on myself through fasting, I realize that I do not actually need that much to function or survive. I can thrive even. It’s the quality of effort that comes with being more mindful with my actions. In a world awash with abundance and excess, it may be good to know when having just enough is more than enough.

In light of that, I have to be more attuned to where I am directing my awareness and limited energy. It is a lesson that I have not quite fully embodied and integrated in my life. The inner life tends to be neglected through the humdrums and busy-ness of everyday life. Ramadhan is a great time to recalibrate my goals and intentions. It is also the time to redefine relationships with myself, with the world and with God. 

Ramadhan kareem, and peace. 🙏🤲

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• Speaking of water and directing our attention, I am reminded of the Late David Foster Wallace’s great speech — This is Water.

Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.

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I’m a fan of Jesse Eisenberg’s work. His mini interview on how he learned to lead as a newbie director is instructive. It comes down to: as an actor, what would you like from your director. now as a director, go do that (and vice versa). It’s an exercise in empathy really.

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