The Spirit of Religion (Written on Nov 1st)

This past weekend my bike got locked inside of the church compound. I had the next day off, so I just left the bike inside of the compound for the day and figured I’d grab it after work the following day. Well, as I retrieved my bike after work I noticed that both tires were completely flat. Upon further inspection I found out that the little tube-like devices that hold the air inside of the tire were actually stolen. This meant that simply pumping the tires up was out of question. At first I was pretty annoyed with this inconvenience (and actually, I guess I still am) because I had to walk my bike all the way home. This walk took about twenty minutes and also happened to fall around the time of the year’s last Iftar meal. To remind you, the Iftar is the evening meal that breaks the daily Ramadan fast. As I walked past a group of soldiers sitting outside a building, eating their iftar meal, they cheerily invited me to join them. I smiled and declined the invitation. Now, thinking back, it would’ve been a pretty cool experience if I’d joined them for the meal. Oh well. I’ve heard many stories of people getting sick after eating these street meals, which is why I declined. I continued on my way home, walking my bike alongside me. Soon I came upon some men who I often wave at as I zoom past them on my bike. They were also eating their iftar meal and invited me to join them. Again, I declined and continued on my way. As I came up to one of the busier midans (traffic circles), a man handed me a small bag of dates to curb my hunger until I got home to my meal. I couldn’t help but notice how kind and pleasant everyone was acting towards me as I slowly made my tedious trek home. Despite my slightly unpleasant bike situation, I was having a fairly enjoyable time appreciating all the kindness surrounding me. Eventually I made my way over the walk-over that crosses the metro tracks. These walk-overs consist of ramps that lead up to a bridge above the metro tracks, much like pedestrian bridges in Canada. As I was walking down the ramp on the other side of the tracks, a young man was struggling to push his fully loaded beverage cart up the ramp. Before I knew it, a woman (who was a complete stranger to both of us) walked up and started helping him push the cart up the ramp. After waving and saying hello to a few more people, I finally arrived at home. By this time I was glad that God provided such an opportunity for me. It gave me a chance to slow down and to appreciate those around me. I saw that, despite our religious differences, many people here in Egypt are still full of kindness and goodness. Perhaps it’s just the holiday spirit that has everyone feeling cheerful and benevolent, much like Christmas day in North America, but whatever it is, I appreciate it. I think today I will leave you with a a phrase that is uttered quite often these days, “Kul is-sana w’entu tayyibeen”. It means something to the effect of, “All year may you be well.”