Fasting for the Weekend

Abstaining From Eating Food The habit that I abstained from for a weekend was eating. My fast encompassed everything but the consumption of water and a tea I tend to drink which allegedly has medicinal purposes. I ate my last meal on Friday at 12:30 P.M. That meal consisted of a bowl of oatmeal and an apple. I did not eat again until I consumed another bowl of oatmeal and apple at the same time on Monday.

This fast was not the first time I had undertaken such an endeavor, but it was the first time I had attempted to do so in quite a while. As was the case the last time I attempted such a complete fast, the first day was relatively easy. I really did not think about food too much at all. Towards the latter part of the day I realized that it had been a couple of hours since I had eaten.

Still, what was most notable to me was the fact that I had much more time than I typically do. I try to cook everything I eat. Without the need to do the latter, I had much more time to concentrate on my studies and to do many much needed things around my residence. I enjoyed the extra time and the lack of interruptions that are usually daily occurrences with my schoolwork. I had always heard that fasting is supposed to bring one closer to God.

However, on the first day I felt no such transcendental experiences. Instead, I merely felt relived that I no longer had to wash as many dishes, chop as many vegetables, nor prepare any food whatsoever. At the end of the day I recollect feeling that my energy was high, and I even debated staying up later than I usually do because I felt so well. One of the most immediately noticeable things about my fast the second day was a lack such energy.

For some reason I got less sleep than I am accustomed to getting, which may have partially explained this point. However, I was much more lethargic when I emerged from my bed. This part of the fast I remembered from my previous experience as well. I was noticeably slow during the transitions from the various activities of my day. I could do my schoolwork (and homework), and even go to class. However, getting up to leave the classroom took considerable effort.

Merely getting my clothes on to go out the door to check the mail took a long time. I actually spent a fair amount of time in front of my computer, not working, deeply absorbed in trivialities on which I usually would not waste time. One thing I did notice that I found interesting was that my aural perception had seemingly increased. Regardless of what songs I put on to listen to, they all sounded good.

Furthermore, I found myself fascinated by the individual elements of those songs: the songwriting on some, the percussion on others, the various effects on the vocals. Midway through the evening the idea of food took on new meaning for me. My leftover spaghetti from the night before had never looked so desirable as it did to me now. I could fancy all of the different spices and textures of the noodles. I made a deliberate point to get to bed on time at the end of this evening.

On my final day of fasting, I believe I did experience some of the transcendence associated with renouncing all eating. It is not just because simple things like the toothpaste now tasted good, or that at this point the thought of actually eating had.