Jimmy Pan

I want to thank the UCDavis Muslim Student Association for their open invitation to the Fast for a Day event. Events like this make me extremely glad to be living in Davis, and I'm suprised how many politicos came out tonight. Yes, I did make it through the day without food or water, and no it wasn't nearly as bad as one might think. Especially when considering that they provided all of us with a delicious dinner.

The idea of fasting, as communicated to me, was to learn to take control over the physical wants, and to use the opportunity to feed your spiritual side. Self-sacrifice is something most religions engage in; yet it seems pretty uncommon in our world of easily acquired pleasures. I think that self-sacrifice is an essential aspect of discovering your own capabilities and needs, as well as willingly sharing resources; something we all learn as children but seem to forget as adults.

However, I truly believe that self-sacrifice must come voluntarily. My view is that each person should find a reason for their sacrifice: not out of fear, or from shame, but instead from a desire to change yourself and the world around you. Fear and shame only cultivate the negative aspects of ourselves, regardless of the immediate outcomes.