Character. How would you define yours? Or better yet, how
would others describe it? We all like to label ourselves as things, kind,
patient, cheery perhaps. But is that just what we think we are, or are we
actually projecting it too.
As the month of Ramadan is upon us, what better time to
evaluate our characters. Fasting is not only about giving up our food and drink
it’s also about giving up bad things, things that are bad for us and things
that are bad for the people around us. For example, shouting and swearing,
telling lies, talking about people behind their backs. Now, we’re only human
and we are going to slip up every now and again but this month do your very
best to bite your tongue when you get the urge to swear or tell your friend
what that girl did at work yesterday. We don’t need to gossip to have a
conversation, in fact if it is needed for a conversation, well, let’s just say
you may want to rethink the company you keep. Remember that if they’re gossiping
about someone to you, then they’ll probably gossip about you to someone else.
"Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e.
telling lies), and evil deeds, and speaking bad
words to others, Allah is not in
need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink." [Bukhari]
If you’re fasting and your actions are vulgar and abusive
then you should take a minute and think about why you’re fasting. We don’t fast
just so we can give up our food and drink for a few hours in the day, we fast
so we can cleanse our souls and we can rethink our priorities, for one month
every year we get the chance to free ourselves of all the bad that is polluting
our minds and hearts and instead fill it with everything good, prayer, family,
kind words. The good food… well that’s just a bonus.
While we use Ramadan to rethink ourselves, don’t forget to
think about all the millions of people around the world who would do anything
to be in our places, who have far less than you and I may have. So give thanks
for the small things in life, though we may not have that new phone or that new
pair of shoes we wanted, be grateful there’s food on the table and a roof over
your head. Because let’s face it. It could be a whole lot worse.
So start with the small things. Smile at a neighbour, a
helping hand to a colleague, biting your tongue when you want to swear in a
traffic jam. As small as they may seem, it all really counts. Make these small
changes and you’ll see that slowly but surely your perspective will change!
Now we’ve got the small things out of the way let’s move on
to something a little bit bigger.
During Ramadan a lot of us spend a lot more time at home or
at the mosque, and it gives us the opportunity to be a part of our family and
community again. So, it’s the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time or
for perhaps neglecting those parts of our lives. There are some small efforts
we can make that’ll help us strengthen ties that matter.
Help your parents, even its just taking over Iftar for the
day or cleaning up afterwards and making you mum a cup of tea, spend time with
your brothers and sisters, you can read with your siblings, tell stories to the
young ones, we sometimes take the people that are closest to us for granted and
think they’ll be there and anytime we want to spend a few minutes with them we
can just go and knock on their door, but the fact of the matter is that they
could be gone any second and there might not be anyone on the receiving end of
that knock. It’s amazing how many new things you can find out about people you
thought you knew inside out, just by spending a little time with them.
Don’t forget your friends and neighbours, have an Iftar
gathering at your house. Reach out to those who you haven’t reached out to in a
while, even a quick message will do the trick just to let them know that you've
thought of them, who knows maybe an old friendship will come back to life.
Sometimes we’re so lost in our lives, in work, technology,
in living out our ambitions that we forget about those closest to us. It’s good
to work hard and follow your dreams, in fact it’s excellent to, but let’s try
not to forget that there’s a whole world of relationships and people out there.
So while I realise that this post has been a little, you
know, heavy I guess. But it’s just a little advice from a person who’s trying
to take her own advice.
So till next time I hope you’ve had an excellent week and
that you’ll make the upcoming week the best possible.
-Y-
No comments:
Post a Comment