In Search of Spiritual Awakening...and a Chai

It is one hour till sunset.

My youngest son, 9-year-old Mr. T is sitting next to me devouring some crackers and salsa. "I think I'm going to still be hungry after this," he just told me. I gave him my best side-eye in return.

I haven't eaten or had anything to drink since I took my last sip of water just before sunrise at 6:20 AM this morning. It's the annual Baha'i Fast. From March 2nd to March 20th Baha'is (those who aren't pregnant, nursing, sick, elderly, or under the age of 15) don't eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset.

Like Yom Kippur or Ramadan, you give up something--food--as part of a quest for spiritual awakening and cleansing your soul of attachment to worldly things. Except I'm sort of failing at the spiritual awakening thing right now. I feel like Dracula waiting to spring out of his coffin the minute the sun dips below the horizon. I want to eat some crackers and salsa. And chai. And some really tasty grape tomatoes that are in my refrigerator...and I want to go to the Veggie Grill over by ArcLight on Sunset. And then I want to go to House of Pies and eat dessert.

Prayer + hunger...will I reach spiritual nirvana before sunset?




Comments

Poptarts101 said…
There's no way you'd remember me but I used to follow your blog a couple years ago when I lived in France. I moved to LA in Nov' 11, with a new life and new PC, and none of my old bookmarks :(
Today, on the Huff post, I saw Rainn Wilson's blog on the Baha'i fast and I remembered your blog so I searched it, found it, and am so excited about all the new content I get to catch up on.
I hope your fast goes well, and your son stops taunting you :)
Liz Dwyer said…
Aww, so nice of you to come by and say hello--and majorly belated welcome to Los Angeles. So glad you're here. I loved what Rainn wrote about it...so nice to see the experiences of other folks who are doing it. And thank goodness they've given up on the taunting cos yeah, it was a little trying in those first few days.

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