Ramadan

Sunset photo by Brayden

Tonight is the start of Ramadan, an Islamic holy day that marks the discovery of the Qur’an by the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic calendar is totally lunar, so Ramadan begins a few weeks earlier each year, at the sighting of the thin crescent moon, hopefully at sundown tonight.

Ramadan is a month of blessing. By night, Muslims read the Qur'an, and celebrate the compassion of God with special prayers. 

By day, they give to charities, and observe the discipline of fasting: They eat an early morning meal before the sun rises, then eat and drink nothing until after sundown. The Ramadan fast includes abstinence from falsehood and anger, in words and in deeds.

Even though I don't partake in a fast, I observe Ramadan in this same spirit, renewing my relationship with God, and exercising self-discipline and generosity. I hope to build my empathy for Muslims as they observe their month-long fast. Also, coming as it does this year, at the tail end of Lent, I'm re-focussing my efforts for being rooted in nature.

Agenda:
1. Celestial awareness
2. Practice a daily prayer for children

3. Resilience practice

4. Enjoy Iftar

1. Celestial awareness: 
Ramadan lasts from tonight's crescent moon to next month's crescent moon. It's not a seasonal observance because it falls at a different season every year; I think of it as a celestial observance.

As part of my effort to have empathy for the Muslim's as they fast, I attempt to have a heightened awareness of the movement of the moon during this month, and each day's sunrise and sunset.

It takes special effort to pay attention to heavenly events. Muslims have the motivation of the fast, in which I am not partaking. I need to find creative ways to remind myself to be mindful. To help, I subscribe to a calendar ap that gives me a reminder on my phone. (It also helps that my ducks need to be let in and out of the coop with the sunset and sunrise.)

2. Practice a daily prayer for children:

Ramadan's purpose is to help Muslims to develop self-discipline, a strong spirit, generosity, and empathy. This year I want to focus my efforts on the children in my life. I will say this prayer each day:

I pray that I will be a gentle and kind teacher and grandmother for the children in my life; that I will draw on the guidance of the still, small voice; that each day I will find clarity, patience, generosity, warm attention, compassion, and wisdom.

 

3. Resilience practice: 

I'm reading from the book, "101 Mindful Ways to Build Resilience," by Donald Altman, which offers simple ideas for being more rooted in my body and mind. I've just moved to section three, on Optimism. "Optimism makes hope possible. ... it allows you to avoid rigid thinking and to maintain flexibility and adaptability. ... it provides you with the power, energy, and traction needed to bounce back and start moving again when things aren't going your way". 

Practice #51 is Name that Strength. It's an outline for how to keep track of all the character strengths, and positive approaches to life, you apply and cultivate on a daily basis.

1. At the start of each week, pick one personal strength to give attention to (if you don't know what yours are, see the VIA Survey of Character Strengths).
2. Focus each day on applying this strength in a variety of ways.
3. At the end of the week, reflect on how using your strength improved your mood, or made you more effective. 

4. Enjoy Iftar tomorrow night:

The Ramadan fast is broken at sunset each night with a meal called iftar. One year I had this simple Turkish-style iftar meal with Ezogelin (EZ-oh gel-EEN) soup, flat bread, goat cheese, black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and dates. The soup is very tasty and filling, and the recipe is here.