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Soften my heart

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It is Eid day in Trinidad this week. It is the culmination of a month of fasting for Muslims. For me it was a month to work on myself and become closer to God. I had to ask myself some questions. One question was what do I want to achieve? The main thing is that I want to soften my heart. I want to be more patient. More kind. More loving. More understanding. More gentle. I think my faith is pretty strong but I need to practice more.

I feel lucky to live in Trinidad and Tobago where there is religious tolerance. I respect everyones choices and beliefs and I like that we can live in harmony. We celebrate together. We share in sawine and food and greetings. We can learn from each other.

Fasting is not only about staying away from food and drink. Fasting is also about staying away from wrong doing. Fasting is about understanding how others feel. Not everyone may be as fortunate as us. Fasting is about softening our hearts. Fasting is about giving charity. Fasting is about forgiving and asking for forgiveness. Fasting is about being a better human being. What we achieve during the fasting month should be continued for the rest of the year.

I discovered what my favorite surah is and it is Surah al-Fil, meaning the elephant and narrates with only 5 verses and 23 words. The manner in which I discovered this was a sign to me that I am on the right path. I wrote before about my fitness journey and also about my understanding of life. I want to make the best of this journey called life. I feel like my heart and mind are in the right places.
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