Main content
06/06/2016
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, a senior lecturer in education at the University of Greenwich.
Last on
Mon 6 Jun 2016
05:43
大象传媒 Radio 4
Script:
Good morning
It鈥檚 always lovely to wake up to a hopefully bright June morning, and a lovely cup of tea. Except that for nearly 2 million of our friends and neighbours across Britain today there won鈥檛 be any tea or even toast for breakfast. You see today is the first day of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer, charity and hopefully a great degree of self-control. And that last one is probably what a lot of us struggle with most. Not the self-control of not eating and drinking, strangely enough we get used to that even on these particularly long days when we鈥檙e totally parched and exhausted and yet somehow still manage to hang on till the late sunset to have the first cup of tea of the day. And trust me that鈥檚 invariably my toughest challenge! Nothing I miss more than my morning cup of tea in Ramadan.
No, the self-control聽I'm聽talking about is the one we鈥檙e asked to exercise over our negative emotions; temper, greed, envy, selfishness. All the negative drivers that, without us even realising, colonise our hearts and minds and exert a great deal of control over us. In Ramadan we鈥檙e charged with recognising where these traits lurk deep in our souls and firmly but gently sweeping them away. It is through the acts of prayer, charity, and even through thirst and hunger that we aspire to become better versions of ourselves.
So on this June Monday, whether you鈥檙e observing Ramadan or not, it鈥檚 time for a late spring clean: We can open the windows to our souls, let in the sunshine and sweep away all the negativity that鈥檚 been holding us back.
Wise gentle God, grant us the strength and wisdom to recognise, affirm, and celebrate what is good in ourselves and others. Amen.
It鈥檚 always lovely to wake up to a hopefully bright June morning, and a lovely cup of tea. Except that for nearly 2 million of our friends and neighbours across Britain today there won鈥檛 be any tea or even toast for breakfast. You see today is the first day of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer, charity and hopefully a great degree of self-control. And that last one is probably what a lot of us struggle with most. Not the self-control of not eating and drinking, strangely enough we get used to that even on these particularly long days when we鈥檙e totally parched and exhausted and yet somehow still manage to hang on till the late sunset to have the first cup of tea of the day. And trust me that鈥檚 invariably my toughest challenge! Nothing I miss more than my morning cup of tea in Ramadan.
No, the self-control聽I'm聽talking about is the one we鈥檙e asked to exercise over our negative emotions; temper, greed, envy, selfishness. All the negative drivers that, without us even realising, colonise our hearts and minds and exert a great deal of control over us. In Ramadan we鈥檙e charged with recognising where these traits lurk deep in our souls and firmly but gently sweeping them away. It is through the acts of prayer, charity, and even through thirst and hunger that we aspire to become better versions of ourselves.
So on this June Monday, whether you鈥檙e observing Ramadan or not, it鈥檚 time for a late spring clean: We can open the windows to our souls, let in the sunshine and sweep away all the negativity that鈥檚 been holding us back.
Wise gentle God, grant us the strength and wisdom to recognise, affirm, and celebrate what is good in ourselves and others. Amen.
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- Mon 6 Jun 2016 05:43大象传媒 Radio 4
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