COURAGE, PERSEVERANCE, HOPE

Exactly one year ago, he promised himself to fast on August 8, 2008, in protest of the current wars, the injustices, the sufferings, etc. Fasting is not going to stop any of that, the wars, the injustice, the suffering, but he was hoping that some of his anger, and the stress, they would somehow quiet down with the fasting.

He could not have guessed that on August 8, 2008, he’d be preparing to leave the country where he lived, to go elsewhere, thanks to a job that has much to do with the wars, the injustices, the sufferings, etc. “Not eating, on that last day, is going to be difficult,” he thought, “but coming back on a promise to myself would seem to go in the way of the wars, the injustices, the sufferings, etc.” And so he decided that he would, after all, privately abstain from all food, on that day, August 8, from sun-up until sun-down.

In the name of courage, perseverance, and hope, he’ll do it; Anyway, that’ll give him more time to pack his things. His favorite books, mostly.

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[Picture: Page 93 by reading_is_dangerous] From Primary Surgery, Volume 2, “Trauma” (low price edition) edited by Maurice King and Peter Bewes, featuring many contributors. I perused that book while staying with Doctors Without Borders, in the town of Rutshuru, in the North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in June 2008.