12 ‘Ala 167 B.E. (Baha’i Calendar)
Soundtrack in my head: Beat Pharmacy, “Slow Down”
This is the Baha’i month of the Baha’i Fast, where we refrain from food and water from sunrise to sunset. It isn’t as torturous as one might think.
Actually, I really enjoy it. There is something very meditative and grounding about it. My body is more in touch with the rhythms of the day. I enjoy waking up before sunrise, eating breakfast, and watching the sun rise as I do the rest of my morning preparations. While I will often feel thirsty, I usually let go of it. I’m hardly counting down the minutes until sunset, but when it comes, I enjoy my food and drink that much more.
However, I have had to suspend my fast. Even before this month, I found myself dealing with daytime sleepiness, even after eight or nine hours of sleep. I do have sleep apnea, and I am consulting my doctor about whether I need adjustments in my treatment As such, I’m letting it go. I’m disappointed, but that’s the way it goes.
Nevertheless, this has still been a meditative time for me. I’ve turned inward a lot this month, and I feel like I’m preparing for a lot of changes–some that I’m initiating, and some that are hurtling my way. I’ve been accepted to the part-time Master’s program at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Social Work, which I will be starting this fall.
This seems to be one of those times again where the world seems to be changing radically and without warning. I would have never thought there would be such potent democracy movements in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East, or that Madison would be so united in its resistance to a sudden rightward lurch of the Wisconsin state government that 100,000 people would be filling the Capitol Square, as happened yesterday. I see more changes coming that I am starting to prepare for, and which I will be writing about in subsequent posts…
