Ramadan

Hey. So do you remember way back in early April when I wrote a blog post about gratitude that also talked about religion just a bit? Cool. Do you remember how I was like 'religion, no matter the specific type, can be a good thing' (except that's paraphrased a bit)? Cool.

So today starts the Muslim month of Ramadan, which I think is pretty cool. I have some Muslim friends, so I know the basics of Ramadan - the fasting during the day part and such. But I recently saw this article on Facebook and I think it's really cool. It's cool because it teaches. A lot of what it says is really interesting stuff that I didn't know before and it's always better to understand different cultures and belief systems and ideologies, etc. despite what one personally believes. But a lot of the stuff talked about are things that I believe, too (yes, even though I'm a Christian). And I just think it's cool that different religions can have similar teachings, albeit different ways of practicing them.

I could just sum up some of those things, but instead I think I'll just copy and paste from the article.

"Dr. Mansur [a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Center for the Study of Islam in the UK at Cardiff University] added: 'Ramadan is known as the month of empathy. And it's that time of the year where Muslims put themselves in the shoes of people who don't have enough food or water to drink and [experience] a little of their situation. So it is supposed to [evoke] empathy in people.'"

Well I think that is a great thing to try to do. 

Also, "...Ramadan is not just about avoiding food or drink, but also working on who we are as a person. Dr. Mansur added that as well as Ramadan being a month of empathy it is also about patience. 'For 30 consecutive days you are put into this situation where you are going to be hungry, your sugar levels are low, and the chances are that you are going to get a bit edgy and agitated, so either you have a very foul mood for the month of Ramadan or you deal with it for 30 days. It is the best anger management course.'"

So even though I don't agree with the theology behind Ramadan, I really appreciate what it does for people and I want to ensure that I am incorporating these same ideas -empathy and patience - into my own personal religious practices. 

PS ~ I don't really know if this blog post makes any sense, I'm writing this when I'm really tired...