ramadan eve

It's Ramadan eve, as I call it in Arabish (Arabic + English, like Spanglish is Spanish + English).

I'm really looking forward to participating in Ramadan to the best of my ability... I wonder when else in my life I'll have the opportunity to participate to the degree that I can here and now. I plan to observe (read: fast) for the whole month...

Everyone here sees Ramadan as a time of family, happiness and celebration. Yes, it is a time to fast; another main focus, though, is kindness, reflection and spirituality.

A big part of my desire to be in Qatar throughout this year was to refocus of my priorities in my life and for my future. As I am not religious to the extent that most are here, my spirituality deals with my beliefs and my connection to the world around me. How nice it will be to take time every day to contemplate those things and to figure out what I really want and where I am going. Some serious soul-searching days are ahead, insha'allah.

Fasting, for me, will be a challenge, but it is not insurmountable [but for those who have never felt real hunger, that is easy to say]. When it was decided that Ramadan starts tomorrow, part of me thought, "oh, so that means that I won't eat tomorrow," and that immediately struck me as strange. But for how many people in this world is that typical? How many people don't know where or when their next meal will occur? We will fast all day, but then eat from buffets overflowing with food at Iftar each evening... Part of what I want to achieve deals with understanding the condition of hunger, as much as I can understand it in this cushy life I lead... I think that the purposeful nature of our fasting redeems the act a little [or makes the hypocrisy worse... I'm not sure which].

I really have no idea what to expect. But I think that in some way or another, it will be like pushing a giant RESET button. For me, it will be what I make it. I will blog often, I promise.