For the next thirty days...

...I will be adhering to one of the more trying aspects of my spiritual practice. August 22 marks the start of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and atonement. If you are unfamiliar with this, I will explain it as best I can. During the thirty days of Ramadan, Muslims are to refrain from eating food and drinking liquids during daylight hours. We must wake up before sunrise to eat and cannot eat again until the sun goes down. In addition to fasting from food, Muslims must also give up something else this a part of their everyday life that they may otherwise take for granted. I have chosen to refrain from social networking sites. The purpose of Ramadan is many. For starters, it is to help Muslims refocus their comment to God. Second, it is to help us appreciate things we normally wouldn't as they are so routine. And lastly, it is to help us be more empathetic to those less fortunate than us.

This year's Ramadan is different in a few ways. It will be the first Ramadan that I experience in the summer time. The Muslim calendar is a lunar one so the observation of the holy month creeps earlier and earlier into the year. I will going much longer without eating for this year's fast. There will be some things that I will have to modify. Most notably is my workout routing. I'm not a fan of going to the gym too late in the evening so I purchased some equipment that will allow me to workout at home. This will also be the first Ramadan that will start off the school year. I never entered a school year fasting before. The new circumstance will prove to be interesting.

There is always something to learn during the practice of Ramadan. I'm never sure what that lesson will be, but it will ways be clear by the end of the fast. The projected end of Ramadan this year is September 20. I do not belong to a mosque so I will pretty much be observing the fast by myself. It's been like that since I started practicing Islam. I've never been a fan of the organized religion and its secular institutions. All that aside. I'm looking forward to holiest of all Muslim observations. Insha'Allah, I will come out a higher evolved self.

By the way, I have no idea what this picture has to do with Ramadan. This is Grotto Falls in Gatlinburg, TN. I was using the slow shutter here but I didn't have a tripod. I edited this photo with some soft haze to cover up the fact that I was shaking the camera too much to get the shot I wanted. Live and learn.