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Good morning The dates are unpacked, the whatsapp groups are overflowing with messages, charities are poised to encourage more donations, the lights have been switched on in London’s Leicester Square……..Ramadan has begun. In the UK and around the world, for the next 30 days, Muslims who are able to will be fasting from dawn to sunset, not eating or drinking anything between those times. One of our favourite memes to emerge in recent years is the one that simply says “what, not even water!?” with colleagues and friends regularly saying “oooh I think I could do it…..but I’d have to have water”. But this year, starting the fast around 4.30am and breaking it around 6pm here in the UK, feels easy compared to the much longer Summer fasts we’ve had in the past,. We use the lunar calendar to decide the start of the month of Ramadan, which means it starts ten days earlier each year. This will be my 30th Ramadan. I didn’t grow up Muslim and chose Islam as my way of life in my early 20s before I was married. I’ve been reflecting on those early days and I feel nostalgic about my first Ramadan – it was at the same time of year as it is this year. In the Qur’an it says that ‘Fasting has been prescribed for you, just like those who came before you, so you may become mindful of God”. All faiths have some kind of fasting and abstinence built in, alongside the requirement and advice to ponder, to reflect, to be with ourselves more, to not run away from our thoughts and feelings. Prophet Muhammad was in a remote cave called Hira when he first received the revelation. He used to go there regularly for days at a time to reflect, to meditate, to wonder about his place in the world. That cave is still there today. Muhammad’s teachings regularly remind us that Ramadan is much more than just feeling hungry and thirsty. It’s very much a private, inner journey, where we connect better to ourselves, in deeper conversation with our Creator. Time somehow seems to open up in Ramadan and the day feels different. I love the community Iftar meals, when we break our fast, meeting friends, spending time with family. But time by myself is what I think it ‘s really about and that’s the part I am looking forward to the most. As we start this holy month, I’m still having moments where I wonder if I can manage the new routine and the skilful time management required while continuing to work and run the home. But I am ready for Ramadan and I trust in God, knowing that it has come at just the right time for me.