As I started planning what to write about for my 30 days posts, I realized that this isn’t the first time I’ve been exhorted to try something for 30 days. In fact, I’ve been doing this every year for about 30 years.
This concept of making yourself get out of your comfort zone is the essence of the Muslim month of Ramadan. In Ramadan we’re asked to abstain from all food, drink, and sexual activity between dawn and sunset. The three most basic corporeal pleasures are off limits for about half the day. We are taught that the reason for this is not that God (Allah) needs us to be hungry or thirsty or otherwise deprived. Instead it is so that we may become righteous.
When we go hungry voluntarily we have better insight into how people who cannot feed themselves feel. When we put our body through a short test we prepare ourselves for a time (God forbid) when our fortune turns and we may not have any choice but to go hungry. But most importantly, and relevant to #30days, when we test ourselves with things we didn’t think possible we realize just how much our bodies and our sprits are capable of withstanding.
In the end, the purpose of fasting is not to cleanse our body of toxins or to pay our dues to our religion. The purpose of fasting is self-realization - discovery of our own potentials.
It is with this attitude that I approach the #30days posts that I’m starting today. I have no greater goal then discovering what exactly I am capable of doing, if I just practice for 30 days.
See you tomorrow.