Doctor Grandma

15th day of the Baha’i month of the fast, where we do not eat or drink from sunrise to sundown.

For me, it often happens that I take one drink at mid-morning, then make it through the rest of the day. By the end of the day, truly, your body has grown used to the feeling of hunger. It’s not “hunger pains” anymore, but just that your brain has trouble thinking. Focusing is not happening anymore. Your mind wanders, and just feels tired.

One of the purposes of the fast is to connect to the rest of the world, in the sense that in reality, a WHOLE LOT of the world’s population goes to bed hungry. This is hard for us to remember, in America. 2/3 of the world lives on something comparable to $2.00/day. Worrying about children surviving, or dying of malnutrition or simple diarrhea which could be stopped with a simple teaspoon full of medicine that the developed, industrial-based world has readily available to them. We saw just a hint of this in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, where people holed up in the SUPERDOME, of all places, had babies and old people dying for lack of WATER! It was unimaginable. Especially here in America. But it happened.

Baha’u’llah says, “Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor. . . ” one of my favorite lines in His writings.

Tell the rich

                  of the midnight sighing

                                                  of the poor.

Why would the poor be sighing at midnight?? Shouldn’t they be asleep? Perhaps they are hungry.

Late in the day, when I truly fast, my fingers are stone cold. It’s like your system is partly shut down. Circulation slows, the brain is muddled, yet you can go through your day. You can make it, it’s just not the easiest thing.

And for us, we think of the suffering of Baha’u’llah, and of the Holy Ones, and our intensity of love deepens. To be close to Him is our longing and desire. Such a sweet soul, One who endured the taunting and cruelty of the world with supreme grace, “the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”.

4th day of the Baha’i fast. This is a time we do not eat or drink from sunrise to sundown, for one Baha’i month, or 19 days, March 2nd to the 20th. Then March 21st is our New Year.

To learn more of the Baha’i Faith, go to: www.bahai.org

It is a wonderful faith that teaches uniting the peoples of the world into one common cause, one universal faith under one God.

So it is this time of day, when there is only one hour left, that it surprises me the day of fasting is almost over. I am not distraught. My body is not breaking down. And I can still think. It really is not that hard. You have to be careful to drink water at night, and eat well for dinner and breakfast. It’s a powerful exercise in obedience, doing without thing you think you need, and giving up something for God. You think about your faith all day long. (Why am I doing this?? What is the purpose of all this?? etc.)

The Muslims have a 30-day fast, the Christians give up something for Lent, Jews have certain days when they fast. It’s familiar in all cultures, all faiths, to a certain extent. People sick, younger than 15, older than 70, pregnant, women in their cycles, people traveling more than 9 hours, do not fast. 19 days is just right. And I would NEVER accomplish it if it were not required for my faith. And whether or not I fully fast is totally up to me, no one is watching me to report if I break the fast.

Happy fasting everyone.

Toward the end of the day,

it doesn’t matter anymore,

The hunger is there,

but the agony is past,

the head slightly foggy,

the throat so dry,

the burning relentless, and powerful,

It all becomes a part of you.

Then we fill our stomachs,

and quench the thirst,

and some measure of sweetness

disappears,

no more constant reminder

is left for us,

of the sufferings our Lord endured,

There is only sleep

until we awake

to another sunrise, another day,

and the fast begins again.