slip-sliding away…..

Dear Ramadaan…

You came – three weeks ago – to shed light into our lives and homes. A spiritual light which we deprive ourselves of through the rest of the year. A light which is too often blocked from us, because our hearts are soiled by the heedlessness of our Creator; stained by careless words and actions which we output unconsciously…adding dark spots to these hearts of ours; dirtying the vessel which carries a light that we’ve held long before our souls came to these earthly forms, in this worldly existence.

And through this month’s exertions – deprivation in the day, and extended prayer in the precious night – we’ve slowly but surely been cleaned – little by little – so that we’re far more able to connect to the Source of all things.

And in these final ten, we strive still more – to try to gain as much as we can from these fleeting, limited moments. Moments which will be gone a week from now. A day of celebration, of course, yet for those who understand the loss – a day of mourning, too.

For we know that no days or nights can come close to these.

While we try to retain much consciousness of He who blessed us with 30 days of bliss, the reality is that we’ll fail – as will multitudes of others sharing our faith.

Habits void of spiritual productivity will return – unpaused, once again – as schedules revert to ‘normal’, mosques return to relative emptiness, and Your Sacred Book is deserted…recitation and reflection confined to neat little periods which we slot into our otherwise full days and nights.

This annual pattern is as predictable as night following day…but there’s always hope. Hope that – maybe this year – something will stick.

Perhaps something we did in this month was sincere enough – connected enough, appreciated enough by our Creator – that He decrees an upturn in our spiritual fortunes. A significant change…a step forward – which will leave us on a higher base from which to survive the remaining 11 months until you come back to us.

So, while the gates of Divine Mercy are so much more open, and the chains of evil are restrained, we do what we can to build, build, and build some more – for a future that resets come the day of Eid.

May that day be the start of a new life for each and every one of us. One of consciousness: conscious intention to say and do that which is good for His sake alone; constant awareness that He is always with us in Knowledge…always observing that which is visible, and that which is imperceptible – thoughts and feelings buried deep inside our hearts and minds, hidden from those we share this world with…yet clear as day to He Who knows us better than we know ourselves, and is always near, waiting for us to call out to Him.

May your impending departure motivate us to pour out our hearts in supplication to the One Who Responds so that we nurture that – the most important relationship we’ll ever have – and live, with greater purpose, a life which we’ll be proud of when we finally move beyond this phase of existence.

Let us not count the days remaining…but let’s make these days (and nights) count. One final push – to set our lives on a greater course – before our time expires.