It's amazing how much of a difference it makes just to believe. To have the flicker of faith in your heart and to know that it will remain steady and guide you through the toughest of roads. It will keep you warm and safe and lead you along the right way. Suddenly the realisation dawns and you are peaceful and free because you know you don't have to worry.
I am not a very religious person, but yes, I am very spiritual. I believe that the existence of a world so beautiful and complex such as ours must have been the result of some sort of power. I do not believe that all of this was just a chance. It has to be something greater, something divine that created such intricacies and made it look so simple and wonderful.
I call it my God. I don't believe God can be contained in any religious boundaries or given any forms or restrictions. But yes, I am and always have been intrigued by the different religions. That is mainly because I feel a religion shapes a person and his/her outlook to a certain extent.
Few years ago, I witnessed my closest friend, who is a Muslim, fasting for the holy month of Ramadan. He went 30 days abstaining from food or water from dawn to dusk.
As I watched him, my curiosity was tickled and I started reading about it.
As I got to learn more and more about this, I realised that this was all about self-control and being a better person.
In our day-to-day lives, we do so many things and speak so many words that we tend to forget the purpose of being alive. We forget to think if we hurt someone, we forget to stop and ponder if we did any good deed today and we forget to feel thankful and grateful for being a part of this universe.
There are so many people who are not as fortunate as we are. People who have to go without food and water because they are poor and they are weak. People who have been trapped in the vicious circle of struggling to be alive and need to fight for every drop of nutrition and nourishment.
In the holy month of Ramadan or Ramzan, Muslims observe abstinence. They remind themselves of their good fortune by understanding and accepting the fact that food and water and other things that we take for granted otherwise, are a grace of God.
I found myself believing and it felt to me like I had to be a part of this.
This year, I observed the 30 days of Ramadan and I thank God for seeing me through it.
There are three pillars of Ramzan and the first and most important is "Niyyat" or intentions. You need to have the right intentions. You fast for God and to understand his grace and in obedience to that power which is responsible for this beautiful creation.
I had my intentions in the right place and though I was nervous because this was my first attempt at going without food and water for the duration of 15-16 hrs for 30 whole days, I had the faith that God will guide me.
I used to wake up every morning at 4:30 and have my Sehri or Suhoor. Most of the times it was the night before's left overs with a glass of milk and some fruits or dry fruits. Sometimes, I would just drink Milo and have a toast and go back to sleep.
Trust me, you do not feel hungry at 4 and it is very difficult to keep everything down specially with so much water. You have to have water because there's the risk of dehydration during the day otherwise.
First few days were difficult and I am not very good at staying hungry, but somehow, I never had any problems.
Post sunset, around 7:30pm, I would say my prayers and thank God and pray that the food and water provides me the nourishment if my God wills, and then eat and drink.
Every time I had someone to break my fast with. My friends supported me throughout this month with so much love and understanding. I shared my Ifthar with all of them.
I love you all and all this just made me realise what an amazing set of friends I had.
My sister was extremely supportive and caring and thanks to ramzan, I value her even more if possible.
I always had good food and good thoughts and my faith grew stronger.
Even though I felt ill a couple of times in the morning, and feared if I would be able to pull through the day, my belief never wavered and it was because at the end God did help me sail through with ease.
It felt as if He was physically holding my hand and guiding me, just like a parent looks after a child.
I celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on 30th of August. I celebrated the joy of the new found faith. I celebrated life.
Now, I don't feel hungry during the day. Sometimes, I forget to drink water. At other times, when I eat something, I try to spit it out and then realise that no, wait a minute, I can eat during the day now. Things are now getting back to normal, but this is an experience that I would cherish.
I controlled my anger, my hunger and my thirst. I now understand what value a simple thing like a glass of water holds. I understand the value of food and hunger and the great feeling associated with helping a person in need or feeding a hungry soul.
There is nothing in life that will seem impossible to me, as my faith that all troubles will be resolved has now been re-inforced.
If you feel let down and your shoulders feel heavy,
Look up and shrug it off, have a little faith
If you think your problems are here to stay,
Smile and let them go, have a little faith
If your health fails you, you feel you won't be able to go on,
Let your God heal you, have a little faith
Our life may not be smooth, and things might not always go as planned. Happiness might be elusive and peace and satisfaction seem like something unattainable.
But a little faith goes a long long way. When you believe in good, you believe in hope, love and what you do and how you do it, you just need to keep walking. Things will work out.
To appreciate the cool quenching nature of water, you have to be dying of thirst. Just like that, the trials and tribulations that life poses, is necessary. Only as you pass through those, would you realise the true worth of peace and happiness.
And when everything seems too hard to bear, just count your blessings ... and you will realise that it is a wonderful world after all!
I am not a very religious person, but yes, I am very spiritual. I believe that the existence of a world so beautiful and complex such as ours must have been the result of some sort of power. I do not believe that all of this was just a chance. It has to be something greater, something divine that created such intricacies and made it look so simple and wonderful.
I call it my God. I don't believe God can be contained in any religious boundaries or given any forms or restrictions. But yes, I am and always have been intrigued by the different religions. That is mainly because I feel a religion shapes a person and his/her outlook to a certain extent.
Few years ago, I witnessed my closest friend, who is a Muslim, fasting for the holy month of Ramadan. He went 30 days abstaining from food or water from dawn to dusk.
As I watched him, my curiosity was tickled and I started reading about it.
As I got to learn more and more about this, I realised that this was all about self-control and being a better person.
In our day-to-day lives, we do so many things and speak so many words that we tend to forget the purpose of being alive. We forget to think if we hurt someone, we forget to stop and ponder if we did any good deed today and we forget to feel thankful and grateful for being a part of this universe.
There are so many people who are not as fortunate as we are. People who have to go without food and water because they are poor and they are weak. People who have been trapped in the vicious circle of struggling to be alive and need to fight for every drop of nutrition and nourishment.
In the holy month of Ramadan or Ramzan, Muslims observe abstinence. They remind themselves of their good fortune by understanding and accepting the fact that food and water and other things that we take for granted otherwise, are a grace of God.
I found myself believing and it felt to me like I had to be a part of this.
This year, I observed the 30 days of Ramadan and I thank God for seeing me through it.
There are three pillars of Ramzan and the first and most important is "Niyyat" or intentions. You need to have the right intentions. You fast for God and to understand his grace and in obedience to that power which is responsible for this beautiful creation.
I had my intentions in the right place and though I was nervous because this was my first attempt at going without food and water for the duration of 15-16 hrs for 30 whole days, I had the faith that God will guide me.
I used to wake up every morning at 4:30 and have my Sehri or Suhoor. Most of the times it was the night before's left overs with a glass of milk and some fruits or dry fruits. Sometimes, I would just drink Milo and have a toast and go back to sleep.
Trust me, you do not feel hungry at 4 and it is very difficult to keep everything down specially with so much water. You have to have water because there's the risk of dehydration during the day otherwise.
First few days were difficult and I am not very good at staying hungry, but somehow, I never had any problems.
Post sunset, around 7:30pm, I would say my prayers and thank God and pray that the food and water provides me the nourishment if my God wills, and then eat and drink.
Every time I had someone to break my fast with. My friends supported me throughout this month with so much love and understanding. I shared my Ifthar with all of them.
I love you all and all this just made me realise what an amazing set of friends I had.
My sister was extremely supportive and caring and thanks to ramzan, I value her even more if possible.
I always had good food and good thoughts and my faith grew stronger.
Even though I felt ill a couple of times in the morning, and feared if I would be able to pull through the day, my belief never wavered and it was because at the end God did help me sail through with ease.
It felt as if He was physically holding my hand and guiding me, just like a parent looks after a child.
I celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on 30th of August. I celebrated the joy of the new found faith. I celebrated life.
Now, I don't feel hungry during the day. Sometimes, I forget to drink water. At other times, when I eat something, I try to spit it out and then realise that no, wait a minute, I can eat during the day now. Things are now getting back to normal, but this is an experience that I would cherish.
I controlled my anger, my hunger and my thirst. I now understand what value a simple thing like a glass of water holds. I understand the value of food and hunger and the great feeling associated with helping a person in need or feeding a hungry soul.
There is nothing in life that will seem impossible to me, as my faith that all troubles will be resolved has now been re-inforced.
If you feel let down and your shoulders feel heavy,
Look up and shrug it off, have a little faith
If you think your problems are here to stay,
Smile and let them go, have a little faith
If your health fails you, you feel you won't be able to go on,
Let your God heal you, have a little faith
Our life may not be smooth, and things might not always go as planned. Happiness might be elusive and peace and satisfaction seem like something unattainable.
But a little faith goes a long long way. When you believe in good, you believe in hope, love and what you do and how you do it, you just need to keep walking. Things will work out.
To appreciate the cool quenching nature of water, you have to be dying of thirst. Just like that, the trials and tribulations that life poses, is necessary. Only as you pass through those, would you realise the true worth of peace and happiness.
And when everything seems too hard to bear, just count your blessings ... and you will realise that it is a wonderful world after all!
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