Writer: Nada El Nady
While I’m having the privilege of sitting here on a couch, holding the phone between my hands and typing this down, so many others are laying in the streets on the cold, hard ground. While I’m having the privilege of being in full health and being surrounded by my loved ones in a cozy living room, so many others don’t even have 4 walls to surround them.
The days where we are all here sitting in our houses safe and sound, fasting and preparing for iftar, so many others are subjects of losing what we take for granted. The days where we dwell in the melodious sounds of the Quran recitals and the adhan and the ramadan songs, so many others hear nothing but the ear-splitting sounds of the constant gunshots and grenades and the cries and the screams and the explosions. Yet, did being thankful become part of our to-do lists?
You might ask, “What exactly am I supposed to be thankful for? Look at him/her, they got to buy the new Stan Smith while I couldn’t convince my dad since I just bought a Nike last week.” Well, what about those who don’t get to buy, not the wants, but the needs?
In Ramadan, we fast a couple of hectic hours, but there are so many others who fast for days, maybe even weeks, and you still ask what are you supposed to be thankful for.
Be thankful for living in a house and sleeping on a bed, for so many others don’t even get to escape the rain. Some get to survive the harsh winds while others die from the cold.
Be thankful for having food placed on your table during the iftar after a long day of fasting since so many others fast for days and even weeks. Some die from starvation and others suffer malnutrition. Some drink contaminated water and others can’t find water in the first place.
Be thankful for getting an education and for being able to read this right now for so many others lack the knowledge or the senses.
Be thankful for having a family whatever the situation there is. Be thankful for having a house no matter how big or small.
Be thankful for waking up in the first place and being granted a second chance.
In this holy month that only visits us once a year, we shall all pray for the poor and the unprivileged, the sick and the handicapped, the uneducated and the unaware, and the oppressed and the tyrannized. Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters all around, and let’s thank our lord for all the chances we had found.
