It began with a moment where I finally completed my running goal. I challenged myself to run for 3k. Though running in a slow speed, I did not stop ever for a second. That is where I learned about endurance, which apparently is a combination between a strong mind and an obedient body. I finally knew that I can endure the activity I used to hate the most in life (I never liked running). Thus, I believe that there are other difficult and challenging things I can overcome. And it all starts with the mind.
Ramadan is a month of endurance. We don’t get to eat when we want to during the daylight, we refrain from talking behind someone else’s back, and we break our bad habits. This Ramadan, believing that I have quite master endurance, I challenged myself. There are 3 things I tried to endure – which were not really necessary – but I hope they do me any good. The things might be something very basic for other people, yet to me those were new. Things that I have never done before.
First drill is to pray tarawih in the mosque. I haven’t really done this in the previous years. Either because I was lazy, the mosque is hot, the prayer takes too long, and so on. I prefer to pray at home. But this year was different. I realized that almost every single weekend before Ramadan, I always went out with my friends until it’s very late at night. Then I asked myself, why wouldn’t I go the extra miles to pray tarawih in the mosque as often as possible during Ramadan? If I could play until very late, why couldn’t I pray tarawih in the mosque until 9pm? I have a healthy body and there are mosques with air conditioner, I got no valid reason to not praying tarawih in the mosque. That keeps me going, consistently. There are days where I felt exhausted and felt like I just want to pray at home.. but again, this Ramadan is about endurance. So I tried to endure.
Second drill is to eat just enough food during sahur and buka puasa. I used to be very specific about what I have to eat at buka puasa; hot tea with sugar and gorengan. If there’s no tea and gorengan, I might be a little bit fussy. Well, a lot fussy sometimes. This year, I learned to be okay with whatever it is on the table. Also, I tried to endure all the cravings during the day. Back then, I would fulfill my cravings and ate them at buka puasa time. Imagine how full I became? Very full. I did this drill, first because I wanted to reduce my weight and second because I listened to a lecture few weeks before Ramadan started. The lecture explained that during Ramadan, we’re missing out the idea of fasting if we refrain ourselves from eating and drinking during daylight and eat with such greed at buka puasa time. I believe it’s a good drill to eat wisely, even after Ramadan (and gain the desirable weight as a result!).
The last drill is to wear old piece of clothes in Idulfitri day. This one is easy, though. The idea came as I have many clothes which I have only worn once. I want to better utilize things that I keep (some clothes are just too good to be given away or sold as preloved items, so I keep them). Since I did not allocate any money for new clothes, I was able to spend my money for better things.
That’s the story about my Ramadan. I can definitely say that I had a magical and wondrous time during the month. I hope it is indeed life changing. Next year, shall we meet again, I hope it will be better 🙂
♥ Atiqah Zulfa Nadia
atiqahzulfanadia.com 