Ramadan is Here

Ramadan Greetings! The first day of Ramadan began last Thursday, and it’s between 13 September and 12 October.


[
From Wikipedia:
“Ramadan is an Islamic religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when the Qur'an was revealed. The name "Ramadan" is taken from the name of this month; the word itself derived from an Arabic word for intense heat, scorched ground, and shortness of rations. It is considered the most venerated and blessed month of the Islamic year. Prayers, sawm (fasting), charity, and self-accountability are especially stressed at this time; religious observances associated with Ramadan are kept throughout the month.

Ramadan is divided into three ten-day parts, or ashra (Arabic for ten). They are named Rahmah (mercy of God), Maghfirah (forgiveness of God), and Najah (salvation), respectively. Laylat al-Qadr, which falls during the last third, commemorates the revelation of the first verses of the Qur'an and is considered the most holy night of the year. Ramadan ends with the holiday Eid ul-Fitr, on which feasts are held…”

“…The most prominent event of this month is the daytime fasting (sawm) practiced by most observant Muslims. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat and perform their fajr prayer. They break their fast when the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib (sunset), is due.

During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam as well as refraining from lying, stealing, anger, envy, greed, lust, sarcastic retorts, backbiting, and gossip. Obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to be avoided; sexual intercourse during fasting hours is also forbidden. [Qur'an 2:187] Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, as well as sympathy for those who are less fortunate, intending to make Muslims more generous and charitable…”

“…In addition to fasting, Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Qur'an…”

And “…Ramadan is also a time when Muslims are supposed to slow down from their worldly affairs and focus on self reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment and establish the link between the God almighty and themselves by prayer, supplication, charity and showing good deeds, kindness and helping others…”
]


I’m not going to be fasting (and have never been able to), despite me always wanting to greatly, due to my health and my physical condition deteriorating drastically if I do so, but am going to take part in as many other religious activities as I can. Thus, I apologise in advance if I’m not able to add any new posts within the next month, as I’ll probably be quite busy in prayer and w/ all the Ramadan activities. I wish you all a very happy Ramadan that’s filled blessing and peace.




Love,
The Red Haired Londoner

Despair for My Wheelchair

Today, I found out that my electric wheelchair is utterly dead and irreparable, as it’s stopped working since July and had someone check it out a couple hours ago…


My wheelchair is my life, my legs: and I’m in so much anguish upon hearing this dreadful news! I cannot just go to a store and buy another electric wheelchair, as I can’t sit in it b/c I require a custom specialized seating system and a lot of extra special features on an electric wheelchair.


I’m bloody so anxious and freaking out, and I just don’t know what to do. WTF? I DON’T WANT TO IN BED AND/OR STUCK AT HOME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

My Quality of Life

A few weeks ago, I was told the London Borough of Redbridge’s Primary Care Trust (PCT) has approved full funding for me to have in home care by carers. Subsequently, a lady from an independent care agency contacted me and did about a 4 hour detailed evaluation to see what kind of care I need at home. Then, she typed up a report adding up the cost, and sent it back to the PCT for approval. And recently the PCT approved the report and for me to have carers 24/7 at home; specifically, to have two carers in the day and two carers at night every single day of the year to care for me, due to the complexity of my needs…


This is BRILLIANT news! You have no idea what this means for me. Finally, after of over a year of fighting w/ so much bloody BS and bureaucracy, I will soon be able to get the care I deserve. It will mainly help my Mum out a lot as she has been my main carer for 22 years, especially at night b/c I’ve never been able to turn myself over and she is the one who usually turns me over all throughout night (and my health has got to point where I need to be turned every 15 minutes during the night and my wonderful Mum is the one who usually does it). Moreover, it will give me a lot more independence, and dramatically improve my quality of life.


The carers will hopefully begin working around the end of October, and I’m very optimistic that things will start to get better. I just pray that I’m able to begin doing the all the things I really want soon (once I get the carers) b/c my health is not going to get (and is not getting) any better, and I’m just bored out of my mind being stuck at home all the time not able to express myself in any shape or form. Plus, I still have so much I need to achieve in my life…

Never Have an Affair

This evening, Mum, Sarah, and I watched The Painted Veil directed by John Curran and stars Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, and Liev Schreiber. I wasn’t keen on watching it, but Mum really wanted to see it, so I thought I’d check it out.


Man, look can be so deceiving; this is actually a good film. The Painted Veil is about a young woman called Kitty Garstin (Watts), a pretty, shallow woman from a well-to-do London family who’s under pressure from her parents to find a husband. She marries Dr. Walter Fane (Norton) who’s an earnest, socially awkward doctor on leave from China (soon after she meets him at a party), despite her not loving him. The Fanes move to Shanghai, where Dr. Fane is working at a government lab studying infectious diseases. Kitty, then soon bored, meets Charles Townsend (Schreiber), a married British diplomat who is a serial womanizer, and has an affair with him. When Walter discovers this, he gives her an ultimatum: come with him to the Chinese interior to assist with a cholera epidemic relief effort for which he has volunteered, or face a divorce on the grounds of her adultery. Thus, Kitty turns to Townsend to convince him to divorce his wife and marry her. When Townsend, not to Walter's surprise, refuses to leave his wife for Kitty, she chooses to travel with her husband. And that’s when it starts to get really interesting.


This is a visually stunning film that’s a bit slow to begin with, but well worth watching if not for brilliant scenery and intense acting alone. It makes think and deeply touches you. Overall, The Painted Veil is a very striking film, and I highly recommend it. ***FOUR STARS***

Saturday Family Night

For Saturday Family Night today Sarah just continued to read Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows aloud to me.

Bye for now.

Regards to Dave

Today, I found out some very sad news. Dave Moreton’s father recently passed away.


Dave is friend and adviser from an independent organisation called Connexions, which helps young people from 14-25 deal w/ all kinds needs like learning, housing, careers, relationships, etc. He is the only one who actually helped me get all my benefits, and he is helping me figure out how I can get into Uni w/o paying £11,000.00 (about $22,000.00) Per Year.


I’m so sorry for his loss. And Dave you have my deepest condolences, and if you need ANYTHING AT ALL please DON’T ever hesitate to ask.

Saturday Family Night

Yesterday, for Saturday Family Night Mum and Sarah went to a religious ceremony of the wedding of one of Mum’s best friends son.


So, I just stayed home and watched the first series of HBO’s Rome on DVD, which Sana got me for my birthday. I really liked it; it’s the dog’s bollocks! (But, it’s DEFINITELY NOT for kids) ***FOUR STARS***