Sunday 5 July 2015

Nayu's News #190 Ramadan 2015

I'm so excited it's Ramadan!
Morning all! I'd honestly planned to try and do 4 Ramadan posts like I usually do, but the last few weeks have been chaotic as I've been busy finishing day day job for good (yay! & gulp!) and taking it easy to recover from said chaos afterwards. 

It's that time of year again!
Ramadan is a very holy month to Muslims, where those who aren't limited by health issues fast (abstain from water and food) from dawn until dusk. Those like me who have to eat and drink for medical reasons still fast spiritually by listening to the Quran more and increasing our good deeds. I have some previous years posts which explain the essentials in more detail: 

Ramadan 2013 #1 What Ramadan is all about
Ramadan 2013 #4 I chat about good deeds
Ramadan 2014 #1 My focus for Ramadan 2014

I love getting to know the Quran more in Ramadan
This year because I do need more rest these days, rather than listening to an entire section of the Quran each day (which would leave me with little rest time when I worked, and when I'm fuzzy-headed I can't focus as well), I'm going with listening to as much as I can. It is quality over quantity. While it's highly recommend to finish the Quran in Ramadan, it isn't a law set in stone. 

Understand the Quran is vital to life
Equally it is better to read it (by it I mean the Quran in Arabic - any other language is just a translation) yourself, but because that tires me out I listen. If you don't understand Arabic, listen to the Quran with a translation beside you so you can start to pick up on what certain words mean. It's quite satisfying when I can pick out the Prophets' names ^o^  I can't remember where I read it but there's a saying that little and often is best - God would rather we do a small thing regularly than a huge thing infrequently. I'm praying by next Ramadan I will be able to listen to more of the Quran each day with less effort, so that's what I'm aiming for! 


Time for some thoughts
I feel that leaving my day job and starting being a full time writer and crochet artist during Ramadan has been the best time of year to do this. For starters in the UK we are having a wonderful heatwave, which considering I'm cold most of the year unless it is above 20C it makes me feel more alive & upbeat. Most important of all because it's Ramadan I'm doing a lot of self-reflection, which has been invaluable as a deal with the maelstrom of emotions that comes with leaving my day job and starting my dream job. I'm praying it all works out somehow, working as hard as I can when I can, and leaving the rest to God. Regardless of what you believe in that's all any of us can do in life, do our best and hope/pray/wish for success! 

I'll put up a post for Eid (end of Ramadan celebration) when it happens. Until then keep smiling, help others, take care of yourself and have fun!

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