What to do at lunchtime during Ramadan

Lunchtime.

Time for a break. A bit of sustenance and a pick me up for the afternoon.

Not so.

Today I find myself half way through a film shoot. It hasn’t been an overly strenuous – things have sort of fallen into place along the way – but I’m feeling the fatigue. Yesterday I wrote about fasting having little impact on work and concentration and today I’m seeing that in action. I won’t lie. Trying to stay focussed is a little challenging, but I know that as soon as we wrap in a few hours I’ll have earned a nap before sunset.

I always find it amusing how every year I get the same questions about no water, losing weight and the lack of concentration. I think one year I’ll hand out leaflets. One thing that has struck me is that a lot of people think about Ramadan from their own viewpoint. A sense of  ‘I couldn’t do that’ and ‘That wouldn’t work for me’.

That got me thinking. In my professional time I spend a lot of time talking about unconscious bias and how we are conditioned to think a certain way without even acknowledging it. That’s what I’m learning to love about Ramadan. It’s putting me in a frame of mind of someone who – 11 months of the year – I am not. If I were not in the lucky position I am in, with the education I’ve had and the opportunities I’ve been afforded, there is just so much I wouldn’t be able to do both personally and professionally.

The slight onset of a headache and a little bit of dizziness is adding to that sense of gratefulness. It might sound crazy, but this really is a strengthening exercise for both body and mind.