麻豆社

Good morning,

As Ramadan comes to an end and Eid is celebrated I鈥檓 looking forward to sharing prayers, food and conversations with loved ones. The further lifting of restrictions on Monday means we will delay the customary Eid hugging until next week.

Ramadan is so much more than giving up food. And although community is a big part of it too, for Muslims it really is a personal inward journey, re-connecting to ourselves and to God over those 30 days.

We鈥檙e encouraged to reflect on what we have in our lives, to think about our actions, to look at where we need to improve, what we need to do less of, what is lacking that needs more attention. An annual spiritual detox you could say. We come out refreshed and filled with new intentions of being our best selves.

Through Ramadan I鈥檝e been thinking and reading about gratitude. I鈥檓 guilty of not always appreciating what I have. Taking things for granted. Assuming my health will always be fine. I was very moved listening to a woman in an online class crying as she explained to us how last Ramadan she couldn鈥檛 fast and couldn鈥檛 prostrate in prayer because of ill health. This year she was well and able to do so again. To hear her journey from suffering to gratitude had a deep impact on me.

In the Qur鈥檃n, God says 鈥淚f you are thankful, I will give you more鈥�.
The word Alhamdulillah rolls off the Muslim tongue regularly as a declaration of gratitude and is usually translated to mean 鈥榓ll praise is to God鈥�.

I love what the Tibetan Buddhist Nun, Pema Chodron has to say about an attitude of thankfulness: 鈥淎ppreciate everything. Even the ordinary. Especially the ordinary.

An example of this was my late grandmother Marjorie. She was the queen of the thank you note. She would buy us a birthday present, we would send a thank you card and she would then send us a letter thanking us for the thank you card. She set the standards high for us all.

Scientists have been able to show that gratitude can be good for our mental health, we can become more self aware and our relationships can improve.

Through the last year in particular there will be new people we can feel grateful for. Earlier this week Thank You Day was launched to take place in July. An excuse for thank you parties across local communities, not forgetting those small personal thank yous too.

Gratitude and kindness go hand in hand. They鈥檙e contagious and can make both the giver and receiver feel better. So for Eid, let鈥檚 get the kindness and gratitude flowing.

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