Ramadan for Cars?
While I am not a fan of any of the Abrahamic religions, I am extremely respectful of many of the customs of those religions, particularly Ramadan. The idea that a billion people fast from sunup to sundown in order to empathize with those with the less fortunate brings me hope that massive human endeavors are possible.
This year my wife and I decided to take JUST ONE DAY of Ramadan and host a dinner that night, Iftar, with four Muslim friends that were in the midst of doing the full month. During dinner, I jokingly said that a friend and I should switch cars for a month so she can understand what it’s like to drive around in a 2007 Honda instead of her 201X Benz/BMW/Lexus or the like. Ali Nagi added that this concept was worth discussing for other things in life and should at least be a Medium post!
We spoke about how easy it is for us (okay them) to go through Ramadan having so many taken-for-granted luxuries. Cars and Ubers to get home from our air-conditioned offices where we debate open-floor seating. Apps for the perfect pre-fast overnight oats to Seamless access to delicacies when Iftar hits.
Perhaps we should consider fasting from other luxuries? Flipping my iPhone to airplane mode in social situations has proven to improve my in-person focus on friends and family, but I rarely go more than a few hours. During that one day of fasting, I did realize how much of a glutton I typically am during a stressful work day. I thought of those without but also thought of my former, poorer self who had very little and could never pay for a coffee and often skipped lunch to save a few bucks. Throughout the day I asked myself, “Who have I become?”
Personally, I need to ask this question to myself more often. In under a decade I’ve hustled my way from mowing lawns on foreclosed houses and living on a friend’s basement beanbag to working for top level companies and buying a condo in NYC in under a decade. ONE DAY of fasting reminded me of that. Change done came, but not all of it for the better.
What is a luxury that we should consider fasting? And how would you conduct that fast?
