Post Famine
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
I survived my first famine. Pardon the dramatics. It's not like I'd to endure years of involuntary starvation and undrinkable water while having to live in unsanitary conditions, sleep on hard ground, shiver every night, wonder if the adorable kid I made friends with today is going to die tomorrow, pray that no crazy warlord will come by my village on top of being exposed to contagious diseases. But a number of silent innocents still do.
30 hours is nothing really. I managed to last through the famine because I cheated. I drank clean water and slept in a warm cozy bed. It took me a while to recover from fasting. The next day, I had been munching slowly and in small quantities 1) just in case I get indigestion and 2) my food deprived body goes into survival mode and drops its metabolism rate. My breath also stank, which apparently is common while fasting so I was glad I did it during an anti-social week.
Even though it was a mere 30 hours compared to 40 hours or even 75 hours, I felt enlightened. I slowly learnt to separate needs from wants because one of the most fundamental survival need - food - is painfully lacking.
My resolve was greatly tested by dinner time. At the 22nd hour, I was at Olio watching my friend eat spaghetti bolognese as I chewed the end of my drink straw like a piece of liquorice and tried not to let the delectable smell of warm meat sauce drive me to....
Then again, a slice of toast was also enough to excite the same amount of enthusiasm. A dollar or two may not be enough to get a side dish at restaurants, but it sure is enough to buy a loaf of bread. Eating rich food served in munchkin size at ogre price is ludicrous. Needs versus wants indeed... I should eat simply more often.
I fast so that I can appreciate having three meals a day and the luxury to complain about getting love handles instead of seeing an entire outline of my ribs. Suddenly, the obsession to be stick thin has become meaningless. I will continue to align my goals from merely fitting into my jeans to being agile and healthy.
As I descend into starvation, I began to believe that it is possible for people, in their primal need to survive, to reveal the darkest of themselves. If you're hungry enough, will you trade love for a few scraps of food? I heard a heart-wrenching tale of a beggar mother breaking the limbs of her daughter so that she could get more sympathy credit as a cripple. I can only pray that the money "earned" went into food and not alcohol or drugs.
At least there are ways to help humanity and love to flourish. Whether it is rolling up your sleeves to help in a community, spreading the word to raise awareness or giving away your savings for that pair of to-die-for Ferragamo shoes so that someone out there can have regular meals for the entire year, you are making a difference.
I also learnt that World Vision Australia is organising their own famine campaign in August. Only that it's 40 hours *ahem* Aemii? *ahem* Will?? *cough* |
