Reflections on a Quarter-life Crisis

The Uselessness of Fasting?

Fasting for Concern Worldwide, the Organization and the Ideal

Concern Worldwide works as both a fast response emergency agency and a facilitator of long-term development projects.

I love people who criticize me, I really do. They always keep me thinking and on my toes. Today I'm fasting for Concern Worldwide which I heard about through a girl on my program. Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization whose core focus has been on improving the lives of the very poorest people in the world. They host an annual fast to raise money for microloans to aid such causes. Upon reading the e-mail, my first thought was "Hey! A fast for a cause! I'm so down." I do love to pick up a cause and run with it. Of course, I questioned the use of the fast but I figured that it couldn't hurt and that it might make a small statement. Being with such an aware and intelligent group of girls (all of whom I admire), my reasons and the validity of those reasons were all put into question.

The Guru Granth Sahib (also known as the Adi Granth) is truely unique among the world's great scriptures. It is considered the Supreme Spiritual Authority and Head of the Sikh religion, rather than any living person.

Fasting is normally undertaken for perceived health, religious, ethical, or political benefits. Sikhism, which I practice, actually does not promote fasting. According to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, "fasting, daily rituals, and austere self-discipline - those who keep the practice of these, are rewarded with less than a shell." Ok, got it. G-d doesn't approve either but that's another story for another day. In my life, I have encountered more fasts that have arisen for political reasons and have actually been successful in bringing change. Activists have used fasting to bring attention to a cause and to pressure authority or government to act.

On such a small scale, this attention and pressure resulting from the fast seems very unlikely. But I wonder if an individual fast, such as the one I am doing, is done more for the person herself as opposed to bring about change. I view fasting as a form of behavior that proceeds from within an individual as part of a larger purpose or activity that is meaningful to that individual. Inflicting a small amount of suffering on myself may help to make me reflect on the energy we use every day, where it comes from, and our pleasure-filled and convenient lifestyles. Working at the World Health Organization, it's easy to wrap oneself in the idea that we are doing good for the world even though we are living comfortable lives. I'm sure many seek comfort in this theory and consider themselves aware of all the issues. I'm not saying this is not true; my point is this sets up an easy trap for which we do not act with such awareness in our daily lives because we excuse our extravagance by our jobs. I believe that we are all naturally ego-centric but I aim to dispel these thoughts with humility and compassion. I am far from this goal.

So does one 123lb. girl fasting making any difference whatsoever? 
Probably not but I'll do it on the slight chance that it does.

I had a conversation about this with a friend on the way to work this morning. She explained that she doesn't need to fast to remember to be grateful. She does her best to remember the problems that are occurring in our world and acts accordingly in her life. In my mind, I admired and respected her for having this sense of gratuity that I seek to achieve. I explained to her that I had no intention to change the world or even affect any others with my fast because I know for a fact that I sometimes forget to remember how comfortably I live. I've complained about class going over an hour or that the food in the dining hall is too bland but I'd really like to remember that my education is a gift and food is merely a form of sustenance. I like to think that fasting once in a while reminds me to do these things. Each time I have a small pang of hunger or am asked why I would do such a thing, I remember these ideals that I have set for myself, these ideals that are so easy to forget.

 I really can't be Indian and write an article about fasting without bringing up Gandhi. Although his reasons for fasting were quite different and on such a grander scale, his thoughts are still applicable to these ideas: "Be the change that you want to see in the world." If by fasting I provide fodder for a greater sense of awareness in myself and use this in my daily life, perhaps others will be affected by my actions and go on to live with a deeper sense of awareness.

It's so easy to look for changes that we can measure and hold and really understand but the effects of awareness on both a personal and community level are immeasurable; this effect may be greater than we can realize. We're always looking to improve quality of life but is it life that we need to change or the way we view it? I theorize, in my case, that it is more the latter.

So does one 123lb. girl fasting making any difference whatsoever? Probably not but I'll do it on the slight chance that it does. I always say that there are as many ways to live as there are to die; it's unlikely that I'll be able to choose how to die so I might as well choose how to live.