I'm an hour and a half into my Yom Kippur fast and I've already had to answer a lot of questions. No, I'm not Jewish. I don't even believe in God. Do I think it's insulting to use a religious philosophy if I don't believe in God? Absolutely not. It is our ability and right as human beings to pick and choose what we believe in, and everything that the fast stands for (besides the repentance to God) appeals to me.
I fast (and I have for the last 10 years) because I really relate to the idea of atoning for all the sins of the past year. While I'm not a religious person, I am very spiritual. I believe in living my life the absolute best that I can, and I consider myself a soulful person. I take these 25 hours as a time to reflect on everything I've done for the past year, what I've learned and what I'd like to do differently. I dedicate myself to another year of living my best life and deciding where I'd like to go with the next 364 days. While Rosh Hashanah is officially the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur is my New Year. Everything is fresh now, I'm free of any doubt and guilt from the previous year and ready to move forward.
For anyone who is wondering, my ex-husband was Jewish. He started me fasting, which I did for family reasons (You try to please a Jewish mother in law, I dare you!) and have taken a more personal view on it in the last 4 years or so.
I wish you all a very happy Aine new year. May your next year be filled with love, joy, child-like laughter and happiness. I hope mine will.
I fast (and I have for the last 10 years) because I really relate to the idea of atoning for all the sins of the past year. While I'm not a religious person, I am very spiritual. I believe in living my life the absolute best that I can, and I consider myself a soulful person. I take these 25 hours as a time to reflect on everything I've done for the past year, what I've learned and what I'd like to do differently. I dedicate myself to another year of living my best life and deciding where I'd like to go with the next 364 days. While Rosh Hashanah is officially the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur is my New Year. Everything is fresh now, I'm free of any doubt and guilt from the previous year and ready to move forward.
For anyone who is wondering, my ex-husband was Jewish. He started me fasting, which I did for family reasons (You try to please a Jewish mother in law, I dare you!) and have taken a more personal view on it in the last 4 years or so.
I wish you all a very happy Aine new year. May your next year be filled with love, joy, child-like laughter and happiness. I hope mine will.
This entry was posted by Mellie, on
Sunday, October 01, 2006.
