The 40th Day

Related Reading:
Patriotic Father
Adoration
Loyalty (*)

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As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     As I previously wrote - the healing journey encompasses many facets, where we pursue various means to fulfil the physical, psychological, as well as spiritual needs. Part of the journey for me personally, was / is the connection to God. Ironically I was lucky to have gone through these experiences associated with my health, during the time of Easter. To observe probably the most sacred time for Christians / Catholic Christians. But today as I re-visit the spiritual needs, especially as it is the day of holy ascension of Jesus; which takes place 40 days after the celebration of Easter, I thought about the Muslim religion, Islam and the connections. 

     After a human being passes away, the deceased spirit is also believed to still be on Earth for 40 days, after the body dies. Close family members and loved ones, continue to gather for at least 35-40 days. In a similar way, we can think about how this practice compares with the remembrance of Christ, Jesus' death, the risen spirt, and finally the holy ascension to Heaven. Could this be where the 40 days of remembrance originates from in Islam as well?

    We are also reminded to connect Islam and Christianity with Judaism. To remember that Jesus came for the Jewish people. And when he died his earthly death, Jesus' body was prepared according to Jewish traditions.  

     I write these words not only as a learning for myself, but also to think about present day society, and religious disagreements, that can stem from religion, worldly events such as terrorism or attacks. Because if you really think about it - religion is another form for societal organization. This time we can think about East or West, but then again we can say: Didn't the major religions originate from the East, and simply migrate to various regions of the world? To be reminded of this and how we think about religion, we have to remember the covenant of religions true essence, which is to strip religion away from what terrorists hope to achieve. 

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

​Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on May 30 and 31st, 2019. Image 1 - Web Link