Day 3 - Fasting is beyond religion! I urge everyone to try it

Fasting Buddha by Cea

Something happened yesterday that made me think of fasting as a practice that has connotations beyond any religion and deeper into the humanity in general. Around 4:00 PM, I was really hungry and exhausted and a passing thought came to my mind that I wont be able to carry on till 7:00 PM and I was just thinking about one thing or another, and I accidentally looked at the newspaper and the heading caught my attention. It was about East African people and specially kids who don't get a meal for weeks and I started realizing that how much we have and how much we don't care for and the very thought that I am somehow being able to feel their suffering on a very small scale created a relationship between me and those kids.

Photo By: Kevin Carter, The New York Times

I also realized that I am fasting by choice and those young little kids and their families have no choice. The amount of food one person consumes during Sehr and Iftaar is more than what those kids get in weeks. In addition to that, the wastage that goes around is something that is so arrogant and selfish. Yet, I have gone around for years not giving it even a second thought. How cruel and selfish we have become as a society.

For next three hours I thought of different ways I could help those children and that is why fasting turned out to be an eye-opening experience. That temporary relationship that was created between me and those kids forced me to think and plan for something for hours. If I was not fasting, it would be just another news, but due to that connection that fasting gave me, forced me not only to think about possible actions for hours, but resulted in actions as well (maybe more on this in a later post).

Dear All readers, regardless of what religion you follow, I strongly recommend that you at least try fasting once or twice during this month. I am sure, once you do it, you will definitely have an experience to share. It will not only allow you to have solidarity for poor and famine struck people in Africa and many other regions of the world where kids don't get the basic necessities of life like food, water, and shelter but will give you mental and physical advantages as well.

I always told my kids about the poor kids of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to try to teach them not to waste food but that was merely a parenting trick but it all came home yesterday in those three hours.

Regards,
MAC