Has anyone else besides me realized the change in people around them? Well, for instance everyone has become more forgiving. Yeah can you believe it, I didn’t know that there were so many saints among us, hehe! Everybody I know has gotten into the spirit of Ramadan, trying not to swear, being polite to one another, making up with those who aren’t on very friendly terms (but I must warn you all, if you aren’t speaking to somebody it’s usually for a good reason and even if you “make up” it won’t last long.. yup sorry to burst the bubble, not). It’s all about people uniting and somehow becoming one. Well at least thats the way I see it. However, all these things I listed above may not be totally true.
Everybody swears, it’s reverse psychology you do something even more when you know you shouldn’t, unavoidable. It’s like a curse, you know it’s a special period where you should be acting properly but by gosh, swearing seems to be soo right at those times. Being polite to one another, yeah but for how long? See, I don’t understand the logic to that... of course it's a great excuse for Ramadan, being a new beginning for most things and to treat people better than usual. But why should this be done only for a month? Because if we do it every day for a month then that should mean that it has become more than a daily habit and progressed into a personal characteristic, but nooo! We are very careful in our planning to only be good to others for a month and not a single day more than that, I guess we all have our limits to being nice =). Making up with people, ahhh what a nice thought, but once more back to reality, this does not usually work. If you do make up, it won’t last long, don’t look at me like that.. I’m not being pessimistic, I know something so trust me on this one. But if you insist, then at least don’t get too friendly too quickly. These are considered to be some of the better sides of Ramadan, however (bet you knew I would do this =P) there are some people for which this month has a negative effect. Yes nicotine addicts, this means you.
My advice, stay far away from those people who thrive for just one smoke and that are fasting. A dangerous mix, I can’t decide whether their being really cranky and ready to jump at anything, or that the only time you can talk to them or see them smile is straight after the ezan is read and they already have a smoke in their hands. It’s difficult handling such people, it’s even more difficult for them because the only thing they can think about is counting the minutes to when they can smoke. So it would be totally wrong to expect these people to be nice and forgiving towards others during Ramadan because the biggest issue for them to deal with is themselves.
Sibel Muradoðlu (ELIT/IV)
sibelmuradoglu@yahoo.com
