Ramadan

08 October 2006 5:44 pm

Just like that, two weeks of Ramadan is gone, another 16 days to go.

This has been a productive Ramadan for me. I thought, since it started in late September, which coincides with the exam period and translates into endless marking and data entry, that I would have a tough time at work. Thankfully that has not been the case. I don't find myself feeling terribly hungry or thirsty, and I've managed to stay alert till 2.30 p.m. every day, which is when school ends. Then the desire to take a nap hits me and I absolutely have to go home for my siesta. I don't think I'm overeating when it comes to breaking the fast. I've also been more conscious about eating healthy, preferably home-cooked food.

Still, my recent health screening report tells me that all is not well. My glucose level and blood pressure are normal, but I'm overweight and my overall cholestrel level as well as triglyceride level are high. I have to reduce calorie intake and exercise more regularly. I realise that with every passing year, a clean bill of health becomes less of a given.

Ramadan is a good time for reflection. When you don't have to think about the next meal, or entertain the between-meal cravings, your mind is free to ponder about deeper, more important things, like your future and your health. I've become more pensive during Ramadan since I hit my late twenties. Sometimes I don't even feel festive when it ends and Eid ul-Fitr comes, because I've discovered that there are so many things that I need to do to set my life on the right track, and celebrating just doesn't feel right. I don't get excited anymore about buying new clothes, new shoes, new curtains, new everything, to be worn or hung or displayed on the first day of Eid. I don't even feel like visiting people sometimes, which is the tradition here. To me, another month has ended, in which the things that are important rises from the clutter of an urbanised mind that is always too much of this world, and I fear that a year will pass without these things coming to pass.

Eid ul-Fitr has become bittersweet.

<< | >>


Older entries
Ramadan - 08 October 2006
Where I Have Been - 03 October 2006
Baby Talk - 10 August 2006
6 Weeks of Separation - 16 July 2006
Unacceptable Rudeness - 21 June 2006