Chris and I have just completed the 29 days of Ramadan here in Morocco.  We took part in the fasting tradition of the celebration.  We ate our last meal, called ‘breakfast’ between 2:00am and 3:00am, went to bed around 4:00am, then fasted until sunset each day. 

Fasting means that you do not take anything into your body during those hours.  No water, no smoking, no sex even! The body is meant to remain pure and not influenced in any way during that time.    

By taking part in such a ritualistic tradition, we have found exponential growth.  We had no idea what we were getting into.  We didn’t know how it was going to feel while we were doing it,  and we didn’t know how it was going to feel when we were finished.  But by submitting ourselves to the experience, we have rearranged the way we think, we have blasted beliefs that we once held, and we have proven to ourselves what is possible. 

We didn’t mentally prep ourselves for this experience, we simply let it happen.  We didn’t question whether or not we could do it, we just did it.  We rested in the knowing that millions of people, if not billions of people, have done this before.  We rested in knowing that we probably could as well. 

It really wasn’t even that difficult.  The first couple days took a bit of focused effort to not do those knee jerk things that we always do, like grab for the water bottle multiple times during the day.  Water intake was one thing that I was a little concerned about, but in all honestly, I didn’t even know if I could drink water during Ramadan, or not, until the night before it began.  In fact it was mere hours before it began that I asked our host what “fasting” really meant.  It was then that he told me, no water, and that he couldn’t even smoke his cigarettes during that time.  I later went on google to check it out for myself, and did a little reading about Ramadan so that we knew what we were getting into.  Of course, I did this after it had already begun. 

I didn’t have time to really think too much, or psyche myself out about it, I just did it.  I let the experience guide me, and I rested in knowing, again, that like all the rest that had done it before me, if they could do it and survive, then I was sure that I could as well. 

It’s interesting because I have been getting feedback from people that we are impressed that we did this.  I guess, now that it is done, I’m impressed as well.  Even Jamal, our host, claims that we “are strong” for doing it.  But I think the important thing is that we didn’t do it to impress anyone.  We didn’t even realize that it was impressive.   

To start with, the real truth of the matter is that our host was doing it, and as he is the one that makes our food, it also just made sense to keep things simple for him. But we also did this because it is part of the culture that we are in.  It is a tradition that they have done for thousands of years, so it was something that we wanted to experience also.

This is the sort of travel that we do.  This is the deep dive that we are doing into other cultures’ ways of doing things.  We love to challenge our beliefs and open our minds up to new and different ways.  We like to create the space in our lives to change our habits, and to tweak how it is that we currently do things.  As we experience different cultures and places, we find ourselves constantly learning and growing.  If we see a group of people with a better way of doing something, then we adopt that practice.   As we go, we fine tune how we are living our lives, and it just keeps getting better and better. 

Of course, another huge aspect of Ramadan is the praying.  Our host prayed numerous times per day, certainly before the evening meals.  We didn’t pray.  At least, we didn’t pray in the way that he was praying.  We have our own way of praying.  We prefer to meditate.  We speak to whoever it is that is responsible for the goodness that is in our lives every day.  We speak to the external force that guides us on our path, and that shows us what is possible in this life.  And we are grateful to whoever it is that has us in their charge. 

More and more it feels clearer that we are walking our path to demonstrate that there is so much to experience in this life.  We are walking this path to experience the variety that is out there in the world.  We are walking this path to help ourselves to better understand humanity, and what makes all of us tick.  We are walking this path to show others that if we put up walls of false beliefs around ourselves, then we are missing out. 

When these walls of false beliefs are built up around us, we are missing out on so much that is enlightening and exhilarating.  We are missing out on a life that could possibly be better than the one that we are currently living.  We are missing out on enriching our lives with experiences.  Most of all, we are missing out on providing ourselves with the best life experience that could ever be possible.   

Ramadan now does feel like and accomplishment.  While we were doing it, we didn’t think much of it.  We were so wrapped up in ourselves and what ever was going on.  We didn’t count down the days.  We didn’t wish that it was over.  We just did it.  We put one step in front of the other, took on what each day provided to us, and moved forward into the next one.

This is how we now live our lives, and this is how we will continue to do so. 

We send much love out into the world.  Wherever you are, and whatever you are experiencing, we hope that you are able to still find happiness and joy even in those dark moments.   And most of all we hope that you too are experiencing your best life possible! 

If you would like to learn about how it is that we arrived to Tinghir, check out my blog post “Let’s Get You All Up To Speed“.