Debbie Mae Angon

RS35-J

10 Weeks Journal

Fasting may be defined as abstaining from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially
as a religious observance. In Religious Studies 35, we are asked to do abstinent or fasting as
compensation to the people who cannot sustain their needs. Our instructor gave us 10 weeks to
do so.

My first to third week of fasting, honestly, it didn’t sink in to my mind yet the purpose of it.
To me it was more like a contribution for the sake that our instructor will record something in my
records.

My fourth to the last week of fasting: Outside the campus, there are children and
teenagers that are begging everyday for them to eat. They survived living in the streets, playing
‘patintero’ with the vehicles while crossing. From this week, our instructor started discussing
again the purpose of our fasting. It made me realize that what we are doing is just a really small
sacrifice for other people, for them to have the necessities they need. Whereas we, living our
everyday life with all the necessities we need, having the education.

We are really blessed, so for me to compensate, aside from the donation I give for the
foundation, I also give something for the beggars. The amazing thing is, even if how small you
give them, you can see in them how grateful they are. It makes me see more how blessed I am
and there is no certain age or time when to help the community. Everyone can make a
difference. We only need to open our hearts and minds.

I learned many things during the ten weeks of fasting including some virtues like
wisdom, self-control, gratitude, and love that includes empathy, compassion, kindness,
generosity, service, loyalty, patriotism.

Wisdom is good judgment. It enables us to make reasoned decisions that are both good
for us and good for others. Wisdom tells us how to put the other virtues into practice, when to
act, how to act, and how to balance different virtues when they conflict. Wisdom enables us to
discern correctly, to see what is truly important in life, and to set priorities.

Self-control is the ability to govern ourselves. It enables us to control our temper,

regulate our sensual appetites and passions, and pursue even legitimate pleasures in
moderation. It’s the power to resist temptation. It enables us to wait and to delay gratification in
the service of higher and distant goals.

Gratitude has been described as the secret of a happy life. It reminds us that we all drink
from wells we did not dig. It moves us to count our everyday blessings. If you have water to
drink, food to eat, necessities you need you should never to complain about anything. we should
be grateful for the blessings we received.
 Love goes beyond justice; it gives more than fairness requires. Love is the willingness to
sacrifice for the sake of another. A whole cluster of important human virtues: empathy,
compassion, kindness, generosity, service, loyalty, patriotism (love of what is noble in one’s
country), and forgiveness (make up the virtue of love). Love is selfless love that expects nothing
back, the most powerful force in the universe. Its impact on both the giver and the receiver is
incalculable. Love is a demanding virtue. If we really took seriously the familiar injunction to
“love your neighbor as yourself,” says an essay on this virtue, would we not make every effort to
avoid gossiping about others and calling attention to their faults, given how sensitive we are to
such things said about us.

After this practice of fasting, we may be done giving our donations to the foundation but I
will not stop helping those who are in need, even how small it is. Quantity doesn’t matter, the
thought is. And with all those virtues, we can make the world a better place.