The Month That Teaches the Heart to Notice
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become mindful of God.” — Qur’an 2:183
Today marks the third full day of Ramadan.
For Muslims around the world, the rhythm of life shifts. They rise before dawn to eat and pray. Then, from sunrise to sunset, they abstain from food and drink — even water — and orient the day around attention to God, generosity toward neighbors, and restraint of the tongue, the temper, and the ego.
To many of us outside Islam, fasting sounds like denial. But Ramadan is not primarily about deprivation. It is about perception.
Hunger becomes a teacher. Thirst becomes a reminder. Every ordinary habit — a sip of water, a quick snack, an impatient word — becomes visible again. What normally disappears into the background returns to awareness. The body itself becomes a form of prayer, gently asking: What actually sustains you?
In the evenings, families and strangers gather for iftar, the breaking of the fast. Mosques open their doors, and people fill tables. They share food across class, nationality, and language. The fast that is kept individually is always broken together.
Ramadan teaches a paradox: we become more human not by consuming constantly, but by pausing long enough to recognize one another.
This year, however, the month arrives heavy.
In Gaza, Ramadan arrives where homes once stood. Entire families gather only in memory after this long and terrible war. Parents sit at sunset without the children they’ve now buried. Children wait for parents who will never return. Kitchens are gone. Neighborhoods are gone. Safety is gone. Many who fast do so beside fresh graves, not out of devotion but because war has already taken the meal. The month meant to heighten gratitude now holds unbearable absence, and prayer rises through grief no human being should have to carry.
Yet the prayers continue. That matters.
Ramadan insists that attention itself is a form of resistance. In a world that trains us to scroll past suffering, to normalize violence, to live insulated from one another’s vulnerability, the fast interrupts forgetfulness. It refuses numbness.
To fast is to say: I will not live on autopilot.
To pray is to say: I remember that life is not mine alone.
To gather at sunset is to say: survival is communal.
The beauty of Ramadan is not only for Muslims. It offers a wisdom our whole culture needs: the discipline of enoughness.
We live in systems built on constant appetite: more speed, more outrage, more consumption, more certainty. Ramadan gently trains the heart to loosen its grip. It teaches that desire does not rule us, and that compassion grows when we notice how dependent we are on what we usually take for granted.
We may not keep the fast in the same way, but we can receive its invitation.
To notice hunger — our own and others’.
To slow down enough to feel gratitude.
To refuse to let suffering become background noise.
To gather people around tables where no one eats alone.
The sun will set tonight, as it always does. Somewhere a family will break bread in celebration. Somewhere else a family will break their fast in mourning. Both prayers rise into the same evening sky.
Ramadan teaches that God hears them together.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What ordinary comfort in your life has become invisible to you through habit?
Where have you begun to numb yourself to the suffering of others?
What would it mean today to practice “enoughness” instead of excess?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer at Sunset
Merciful God, You meet us in hunger and in fullness, in gratitude and in grief. Open our eyes to what sustains us. Keep our hearts tender toward those who suffer. Teach us restraint where we grasp, and generosity where we hesitate. May we learn to live so that no one breaks their bread alone. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
A Small Fast
Choose one ordinary comfort today — snacking, scrolling, background noise, or constant commentary.
Lay it down for a set period of time (one hour or one meal).
During that time, each moment you feel the impulse to reach for it, pause and ask:
Who else is hungry right now — in body or spirit?
Let the awareness shape one concrete act of care before the day ends.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
February - My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. I will be leading a book study on Brian McLaren’s book, Life After Doom, that starts on Feb 17. Join the community here.
February 19, 2026 (next session) - On Feb 5, Margaret Wheatley and and I launched a new online course called “Leading with Spirit,” a six-session journey into soul-grounded leadership designed to deepen your trust in guidance, nurture perseverance, and rekindle imaginal wisdom for our fractured world. It’s not too late to join. Take a look at the course outline. We are really excited and hope you can join! Scholarship are available if needed. Learn more here!
March, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.
March 17, 23, 31 and April 7, 2026, 7-8:30pm ET - Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox and I will be hosting another 4-part series on “Visions for the Common Good.” This series will include sessions with David Abrams, Randy Woodley and Lynne Twist! All sessions are recorded, and you will get the link if you can’t make it. Learn more here.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Science and Nonduality is offering a Community Gathering with Dr. Lyla June, Kaira Jewel Lingo and Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, facilitated by Rae Abileah on February 26th on how spiritual practice, trauma-aware care, and neighborhood organizing are being woven together as living traditions. Learn more here.
The need for us to persevere and contribute grows ever more challenging as the horror and cruelty escalates, created by leaders with “malevolent incompetence.” Dr. Margaret Wheatley is offering a “Bundle for Good” for shipping within the U.S. She will send you seven copies of Perseverance, and one copy of her book of poems, Opening to the World as It Is. She’s including the poetry book as another means to support you personally. You can learn more here.
The Convergence Music Project is hosting a songwriting event on March 19-21, 2026 in Nashville. No songwriting experience is required, so feel warmly welcome even if you've never written a song before. There will be plenty of content also to further educate, inspire, and develop the gifts of advanced songwriters as well. Learn more.
Millions of people are seeking training in becoming Legal Observers for their communities vulnerable to ICE. Here is a recorded training that is helpful produced by the team at No Kings. If you know of other trainings, please post in the comments below.
The phenomenal team of “Singing Resistance” has gifted all of us a songbook of protest songs that groups are now using across the world. Here is the link. I am marching around my house singing these throughout the day. My dogs are very confused.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
thank you for this. two days ago i was driving my cat to the vet with uncertainty weighing on me. will my cat be ok? do i dare pray for my cat when women and children are starving and dying in Gaza and Sudan? will there be an end to the trumpian horrors without complete destruction of our nation? are we heading into drought in Colorado (no snow means no water)? and then i was sitting at a red light and looked up at the clouds. they appeared to be gathering for a storm, swirling in every shade of gray. "oh, thank you!" i said outloud. and then i saw it: a darker mass forming a tight coil that looked precisely like an enormous ear. God's ear. all prayers are welcome and God hears them all.
I’m moved beyond words by this inspiring and gracious post. 💗🙏🏻