Growing up, I was never a big fan of Ramadan.

To my juvenile mind, Ramadan was a month of hunger, thirst and being confined to my bed because there was nothing better to do when your blood sugar's hitting negative digits. Up until very recently, I found it difficult to grasp the intrinsic value of going hungry for an entire month of the year and would spend weeks beforehand grumbling about the caffeine withdrawal I would soon have to endure. I'd suffer the inevitable pang of guilt every time a "yay! Ramadans almost here!" popped up on my news feed and wondered why I couldn't get as excited about the Month that never seemed to end.

But somethings changed this year. Its been a gradual process but the last 9 months have been one massive light-bulb moment. This may sound cliche, but the transition from full-time bludgi...err.. uni to full-time work has been an immensely difficult one. Suddenly, it wasnt ok to miss the morning train, counting on the lecturer not to notice your late entrance because he's too busy getting excited over enzyme induction in front of a room full of napping students. All of a sudden, the 5-hour breaks between lectures that we used to complain about are remembered with great fondness. Getting home before the sun sets becomes a rare joy ( or even getting the chance to see the sun at all, for that matter). Sleeping in ( whats that again?) no longer exists and finding the time for a social life is more challenging than trying to get a meeting with Gillard. For someone who is thoroughly bored by routine, full-time work has been agonising. I can almost see many of you nodding your heads in wistful unison as you remember the good ol' days of lunch catch ups with friends, 3-month holidays and 12pm starts.

It's hard but a necessary fact of life. Growing up means waking up at a certain time, sleeping at a certain time and enduring hardship for the sake of the greater good. Much like Ramadan, actually.

For the first time (and quite belatedly, I must admit), I see the inherent wisdom behind taking a month out of your life to focus purely on the metaphysical by training the physical to bow to the higher self. The blessings, rewards and goodness that come out of this month are our goodies for the hereafter. But through this arduous task, Allah swt has also given us the tool by which we can master the world we currently live in. And that tool is self-discipline.

Self-discipline is an art form and one which the most successful of this world have perfected. As inheritors of the earth, Muslims are expected to possess the noblest of qualities and the best of characters. We pray 5 times a day, part with our hard-earned dollars every year, fast an entire month, wake at the roosters cry each morning and abstain from harmful things that our nafs desires not only for the purpose of pleasing and remaining close to Allah swt, but also to instill the qualities of self-restraint, discipline and consistency into our character. Islam has a rich tradition of promoting discipline within its adherents and so it's little wonder that our history is replete with examples of individuals who have quite literally changed the world. From scientific discovery to philosophical mastery, our predecessors pioneered concepts which allowed the world to enter a new stage in its very long and dubious life. How? Through faith, curiosity and of course, self-discipline.

Moral of the story? Working full-time and patiently juggling a billion other responsibilities ( hyperbole is a weakness of mine) whilst sincerely believing that our reward will be waiting for us in the Hereafter mightn't be the easiest thing in the world but it equips us with the skills to be masters of both this world and the next.

Kinda like Ramadan :)