Life in the Wilderness

 So, what do you do on a Saturday morning in Calais, Vermont? Simple, head to the dump. Or, more accurately, the transfer station.

Road to Sossusvlei

 Recently I purchased a new phone, and it's amazing/infuriating the stuff that survives and doesn't survive the transition. My Instagram account is now locked and, after devoting way too much time to trying to sort it out, I've just given up. In the end it's just a stupid Instagram account, but it did have some cool pictures/comments and I was following some interesting folks, some of whom I only talk to via Instagram. On the end other side there were over 13,000 pictures which suddenly returned from the ether, including this one that I snapped in the early morning on the way to the Sossusvlei to enter the park.

It was beautiful and magical inside the park, but even getting there was extraordinary. I need to find a way to get back there soon and for a longer time.

Ramadan Reflection

 Disclaimer: It's usually about a third of the way through Ramadan that I'm at my most tired and grouchy, and thus most at war with my own religion.

I was thinking this morning about the concept of the Gates of Ijtihad, which is a concept that appears in both the Sunni and Shia ends of the Islamic spectrum. The term is ijtihad essentially means something like independent reasoning; that is, carrying on an intellectual exploration, a scholarly and structured but also usually messy one, to sort out the deeper meanings of the complexity of, specifically, the Qur'an, but more generally the entire religious concepts of the faith. The belief is that the Gates of Ijtihad were closed around the year 1000 C.E. (at least that's the Sunni take, the Shia one is more fluid and believe the Gates are still open). Essentially, this means that the questions were answered and didn't need to be explored anymore. I have profound problems with this, as you might expect. We always have to struggle with what these concepts mean, and while we shouldn't simply weakly react and cave to a changing societal world, I think we have to take it into account. I don't think that all the questions were answered over a thousand years ago. Rather, I think the modes of oppression were in place over a thousand years ago, and the role of the religion - and the concomitant, support readings of its texts- in support of that oppression were in place. When we unquestioningly give in to interpretations that, mainly, reflect the societal age in which they were realized we do such a disservice to a religion that began as a revolutionary movement in support of the oppressed.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

Meditations #32

 In your action let there be a willing promptitude, yet a regard for the common interest; due deliberation, yet no irresolution; and in your sentiments no pretentious over-refinement. Avoid talkativeness, avoid officiousness.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book Three

Two years ago, as the pandemic was just taking over the world, I proposed to someone that COVID had turned life into one expansive Ramadan. I think I cited several aspects of it, but at this moment I'd like to just focus on the one that seems most important to me at this moment: intentionality. During Ramadan you have to plan your day. When do you start your fast? When and where do you end your fast? Did you eat and drink enough in the morning to carry you through the whole day? Where will you be during the day during prayer times? What extra volunteering and service will you be performing? In some ways COVID was like that. You had to think about every act, not simply because you wanted to minimize the chances of getting sick, but also because what if you got sick and died? Were you affairs in order, not simply financially, but also emotionally? Have you told all your friends that you love them and how much they mean to you? And while we all miss the spontaneity - both during Ramadan and during the depths of COVID - the importance of leading an intentional life, or a life of, to quote MA, "due deliberation," is a valuable lesson to remember. 

Ramadan 2022

 We're now beginning the second week of Ramadan and by now I should have posted the official schedule for Vermont as produced by our one official mosque, the Islamic Society of Vermont. I know I've made this point before, but it's funny how knowing that you successfully navigated fasting during the month makes it easier. I ran into another Muslim professor on campus the other day and we were discussing how easy - well, not easy, actually, but at least not difficult - fasting is when you've done it for several years. To be fair, he was born and raised a Muslim so his relationship to Ramadan in particular and the faith in general is going to be different than mine. Previously I've discussed how hard, lonely and isolating, Ramadan is for new converts. They have no memories of happy family times which would paint the entire experience in a lovely glow; rather, they have a lot of fasting and time on their hands, which is especially true if they are the only Muslim in their family or set of friends. My ex showed very little interest in what I was doing and why, although, to be fair, she wasn't truly dreadful about it either. Still, there was no attempt to try, even on a minimal level, to incorporate it into the family routine, which left me feeling isolated and almost guilty about the decision to convert. Of course, I would have fought to make it a bigger part of our lives, but I'm not particularly good at that, so some of this is clearly my own fault. My present GF, although not a Muslim, is actually very interested in the process, and even has given me Ramadan gifts, which is a lovely gesture.

I've settled into a gentle fast, getting up at 4:30 and finishing my eating and drinking by 5:30, and then breaking my fast at the scheduled time (right now around 7:30 p.m.). This will leave me a little short of the actual required time of fasting, especially as the month progresses. Truthfully, I don't care, because, well, it's enough. Plus, and more importantly, when we make this out to be a purely physical, bodily endeavor we miss the point of Ramadan. Classically, we hope to get three things out of Ramadan: 1) teach ourselves patience, 2) teach ourselves self control, and 3) and remind ourselves that there are people hungry in the world, who are hungry not by choice. The most enjoyable and meaningful part of experience every year is the Quranic study and the time of self-reflection and meditation. I usually try to include some other reading as well, and this year it's Seyyed Nasr's Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man.  It's funny, Muslims will get a little annoyed when someone from outside the faith characterizes Ramadan as the month when Muslims fast because they think it over-simplifies and essentially mischaracterizes what it is about. That said, we're all too often guilty of the same crime. Brothers will come up and ask you if you're fasting but I've never had one ask how your Quranic study was going. Some brothers, more than simply some, would criticize you if they figured out that you were not getting in every moment of required fasting, as if God somehow is counting the minutes and is angry with you for your shortcomings. My answer, although gentler than this, is something like: "Are you kidding me? Do you know who you're talking about? Do you think God is that small?"

Meditations #31

 Always think of the universe as one living organism, with a single substance and a single soul; and observe how all things are submitted to the single perceptivity of this one whole, all are moved by its single impulse, and all play their part in the causation of every event that happens. Remark the intricacy of the skein, the complexity of the web.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book Four

This has always been one of my favorite passages from the Meditations, and I suppose it is striking me as even more true and powerful as we're a few days into another Ramadan. Over the years I know I've proposed this several times, but we do such a disservice to Ramadan when we simply turn it into a physical act; that is, when we turn it into nothing more than fasting. Sadly, I suspect we do this because it is more easily quantified, and thus critiqued and judged. You will frequently have brothers ask you if you're fasting or if you got your hours of fasting in, but I can never remember a brother asking if I read the Qur'an or the Hadith or related works or if I was satisfied with the number of hours I spent in meditation and self-reflection. Again, my favorite part of Ramadan is the time I spent in the latter.  What strikes me more every year, and with every rereading of the Qur'an, is the "intricacy of the skein," as MA would have it.

Number 23

 My brother Eric tracked down this picture and sent it to my recently. Featured in the center is my father back in his college days, sporting his Phi Delta Theta intermural jersey.

Seriously, #23 looks like a dirty player.

Draft Day 2022

 Yes, it was time for the annual draft for the Irrational League, our fantasy baseball league which has now been around for around thirty years. Sadly, the league has now outlived two of its members (GB and BS of fond memory). The baseball strike ended unexpectedly so, on the previous trip to Florida, only two weeks ago, Jack and I started manically looking for flights to Cincinnati. They were all inconvenient and overly expensive, and then I found a much cheaper flight to Florida, so so off we were back to the land of sunshine to carry on the draft. We tried to set up a virtual draft but technological problems from both sides scuttled those plans, so we ended up drafting over the phone anyway. Still, you couldn't beat the company - and we managed to trip to Skyline after the draft anyway.

The laughs turned to tears after the draft.

Shrimp and Grits

 On the recent trip to Florida Janet discovered shrimp and grits. Seriously, why don't we have a First Watch restaurant up here in the #YankeeHellhole?

Anyway, she's looking awfully sassy.