We invite you to fast for 2-3 days during the Celebration. When you are done, the fast will be passed on to the next person.
You will begin fasting at Sunrise on your first day and end your fast at Sunset on your final day. You may drink liquids during the fast. See attached for some reflections from last year's fasters.
Please select any 2-3 days between March 15th and April 31st. Sign up today by emailing your choices to ifnot@mac.com
Leaders like Cesar Chavez, Mohandas Gandhi, Reverend Noelle Damico, and Dr. Martin Luther King were all deeply spiritual and recognized the power of fasting as a very powerful tool for social change.
For this fast, we simply ask you to take time to reflect and commit (or recommit) to taking action on the social justice issue that is important to you.
If you are interested in learning more about fasting, please read the article below, written by the Reverend Noelle Damico, a long time social justice activist.
Why Fast?
"There are a variety of purposes for fasting, but a central purpose is that of reconciliation...to God and to one's neighbor. From the practice of fasting we should be able to see God's vision for our world more clearly and become determined to live with integrity. Fasting helps us identify the grave injustices around us, acknowledge and take responsibility for our participation and complicity in such injustice, and prepares us to act with God to transform ourselves and our world."
Reverend Damico goes on to say, "While fasting heightens the believer's spiritual awareness, it also brings lasting insights into the physical needs of the body and the daily struggles of those who are hungry and poor. When we fast, we physically experience in a small way the evil of hunger that daily deprives millions of our sisters and brothers of health and life."
Gandhi was a Hindu whose fasts were acts of satyagraha (or non-violent resistance). The fasts were directed toward those who had said they cared about him in an effort to encourage them to realize their mistakes and correct themselves. He regarded the process of fasting as one of purification. While rejecting the practice of fasting in order to convince another of one's ideals, Gandhi believed that hunger strikes were called for when inhumanity was practiced. Gandhi expected those who were engaging in civil disobedience to prepare themselves to "love their enemy" through fasting prior to engagement.
While such fasting may have the consequence of changing the mind of others, the fast deepens the commitment and clarity of the practitioner to non-violent approaches to resolving injustice and conflict.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also regularly fasted. Though he and Cesar Chavez never met, Martin sent Cesar a telegram during his 25 day fast in Delano which read, "As brothers in the fight for equality, I extend the hand of fellowship and good will and wish continuing success to you and your members...You and your valiant fellow workers have demonstrated your commitment to righting grievous wrongs forced upon exploited people. We are together with you in spirit and in determination that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized." Dr. King once preached, "What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't have enough money to buy a hamburger?" He knew that genuine equality was impossible in a climate of dramatic economic inequality.
Cesar Chavez, organizer and leader of the United Farm Workers, was inspired by Gandhi's teaching and practice. Cesar was a Catholic believer who fasted, and encouraged others to fast, as a way of drawing attention to the injustices faced by the migrant workers who were seeking to organize and as a way to demonstrate to his own people the power and possibility of non-violence. Such fasting was an extension of the grape boycott, another non-violent means of seeking change.
REFLECTIONS
My husband and I are fasting together. That in itself made it easier for me, and it made it more powerful knowing we are into it together. Larry and I decided to just drink water for the two days, and we had tea once last night and once this morning.
As we worked outside today, the second day, I thought about how there are folks all over the world who work in the hot sun, or extreme cold, who wake up in the morning knowing that there will be nothing to eat--or what little they may have to eat, they will give it to their children. Putting myself in their place made doing my chores and doing without food much more meaningful. As part of my prayer while working, I sent my best wishes and love to those who do the most difficult work in the world while hungry. They are our relatives.
For me, fasting makes the time go slower, which is a gift. I was more mindful of each of my movements, including breathing. When I sat to meditate this morning, my mind wasn't as active as it usually is. I thought: Breathing in, Breathing out. The act of breathing. I thought about the most basic things we need to live: sleeping, water, food. We are so lucky to live in a time and place where we can sleep and not worry about harm being done to us. Homeless people do not have that luxury. They are always stressed out, looking over their shoulder, not able to have the sleep we need to rejuvenate our bodies.
I look around my home, and see all that I have. I can walk over to the fridge at any moment and take a big gulp of fresh orange juice, vegetables and fruit grown and picked by our relatives in the "Banana Republic."
When my hunger pains hit, I guide my thoughts to these prayers for our relatives.
That is how I make my fast easier. By slowing down my life and sending a prayer to the hungry.
Thanks for inviting me to participate. I sat "on the hill" two years ago, also for two days, without water or food. It is important to visit this place more often. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Before I started fasting, I took some time to think about why I was doing it. I tend to fast one day a month, for healthy reasons, I certainly do not fast to lose weight! This time around, I thought that this time the purpose in my fasting was special as it was for the strength in being part of as plural number and a beautiful mission, but little did I know what a powerful experience this would be!
During the fast, the day-to-day world faded in significance. The world of thought, memory and emotion heighten in intensity. My connection with God and other I don not know clarified and intensified. The foolishness of modern living became repulsive. Questions of who am I and where am I going, demanded answers. Fasting was to me an accelerator of the process within myself. It connected me -yet once again- to live for a higher purpose and to become different from the people around me. Fasting unplugs me from the Matrix. After a spiritual fast like this one I will never be normal again.
Thanks for involving me in this meaningful cause, I "Deeply" appreciate having been a part of it! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
This was my first fast, and I discovered that my relationship with food is very much wrapped up in my relationships with people. For me, they both tend to go hand in hand, food and people, particularly my family. I found it much easier to fast when I was alone. When I was around family and friends, even after explaining the importance and symbolism of the fast, it was very difficult not to grab some food or drink. (I only had water, tea and an occasional cracker.) I fasted during the weekend, which is my time to be with family and friends. I have a large, close family. Inadvertently, through fasting, this short journey was actually more of a lesson about my love for them. I thought about both the sacrifice made by activists who have to spend time away from those closest to them, and the sacrifice made by families who lend their hearts, their family members, to the movement. The images of these sacrifices transcended the rumbling in my stomach into pain through my body. Food is nothing unless you can share it. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I wanted to share with you a couple of thoughts that came to mind as I was going through the process. It brought back memories that I hadn’t experienced since I was cutting weight for wrestling during high school. It was a little more difficult during the weekend but I made it through and with plenty of water I really wasn’t hungry. Thanks for the experience. It also made me wonder about kids around the world and in our area who go to bed hungry every night. As a result I thought that maybe we could ask the people who fasted on a voluntary basis to donate $10 per day and give it to a charitable organization. If we had 50 people and each donated $20 that would raise $1000 dollars relatively easy. Let me know what you think.