EID MUBARAK everybody!!!
Today is the first day of Eid I am having a blast. The bestest part is eating whenever I feel like it!
Officially the holiday is from october 1-3 but add on the weekend and you get a five day vacation for free! Wooot! I plan on eating and napping most of the time. Need to recharge the old neurons. My uncle throws a party on the second day. This is a family tradition that we can't do without. I'll defintely be there.
Today I met with friends from the neighborhood. Everyone is in a very festive mood, it feels really nice. Unfortunately there is one family in particular who is not in the mood for celebrations. There breadwinner was gunned down by some punk that wanted his car. This happened yesterday afternoon. That night we all gathered in the local Masjid to offer the funeral prayers. It was a very bittersweet occasion. On the one hand we were happy that it was Eid on the other hand we felt bad for the family. We all know them very well. After the prayer was over a group of people took the coffin away and headed for a nearby graveyard.
They have my sympathies. I met a family member at the service. At first I felt like cheating and tried not to make eye contact. But I decided I was acting like a baby and headed in his direction. I didn't know how to comfort him. I awkwardly offered my condolences. He graciously accepted and we moved on. At times like these I wonder if I know how to be a good human. Can I comfort a grieving mother? Help a friend through some rough times? Soothe a baby to sleep? Comfort the dying? The list goes on.
I know that when people first meet me they think that I am cold and uncaring. That's far from the truth. I am emotionally effected by what's happening around me but choose not to express myself. This acts as an effective defensive mechanism but also creates distance between me and others. Once I gain the other person's trust I warm up and begin to express myself more openly. In the end I am able to forge lasting friendships.
Anyway this post was suppose to be about Eid. I'll have more updates (and photos) as they become available. I wish everyone a hearty Eid Mubarak. God bless.
1 comment:
Saqid,
Belated Eid Mubarak! I hope the holiday went well for you and yours. The emotional extreme between celebration and grief offers each of us a very wide gulf. I would venture to state that the very fact that you took the time to wonder if you, ..."know how to be a good human." suggests that you likely are.
Whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish we all share and celebrate the same God. Knowing what to say to the griefed (regardless of their religion) is never easy.
I will never forget the gracious welcome of the wife, uncle, family, and friends when a linguist (Iraqi born naturalized American with family still in Iraq) was killed in an auto accident. The whole unit was invited to the funeral were the Uncle asked our chaplain to offer prayers at the gravesite before all mourners returned to the Mosque to complete the proceedings. What was said (even without common language) was less important than the shared grief.
I read you 9/11 comments on Stonekettle before finding my way here. The evil that was unleased on 9/11 impacted me and many others then and since with shared grief. I only wish there was some way to come to grips with the evil of the fanaticism that precipitated this and all other such attacks. God Bless
Rick
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