On Fasting

Fasting is like pressing a reset button on the computer, it’s often needed, yet many people prefer to avoid it…

The boy was feeling great. With his stomach empty, his brain spectacularly focused, and his body slightly tired yet alert, he was on the third day of the fast. It was something completely new to him. An experience to shift his perspective. He tried some short-term fasting before, with the longest time being about forty-nine hours, but as he learned about the benefits and healthy ways to execute such endeavor he realized his previous mistakes, and reasons for the experience being, as it was. Hard. It was difficult because I didn’t add electrolytes to the water he reasoned, also I didn’t have a clue what am I trying to do… There is plenty of myths on the internet, which as easily accessible, as it is, provides a great deal of confusion, and can be rather daunting to learn from. It is like with anything he thought, you search ‘ blister mark on the head’, and get presented with the dooming vision of some skin cancer… He shook his head chuckling. Thanks, internet…

*

With one of his good friends, he was away from his hometown, learning the dietary requirements, as well as techniques of breathing, which were designed to empower his organism. Both of the teachers were highly acclaimed specialists in their respective fields. One – a dietician, had the experience of helping people with very difficult to tackle diseases, as well as trained national athletes, whereas the other was an expert in body movement, physiology, and the skill of meditation, which was the boy’s favorite part of the retreat. They taught twenty people at a time, taking them away from the noise of city life, and pushing their comfort zone by meditating in the snow, as well as freezing water baths. It was something different from anything the boy experienced before, and it was amazing. A major part of the whole experience was the three-day fast from food, as well as technology. He did not mind the latter as much. If anything, he was happy to turn his mind off the constant social media chatter that continued online regardless of the time of the day, night, or week. Standing in the snow, with his feet turning whiter with each second, the boy tried to feel into his stomach, to consider just how much the fasting bothers this part of his body. The first day was the hardest he thought remembering the loud grumbling of the inner pot begging for some sustenance, now it feels like I can go on for ages…

*

The trip was coming to an end. Both he and his friend were positively empowered, feeling ready to take these priceless lessons with them, putting the techniques into practice, which would make their daily lives better. The boy packed his bag and sat downstairs, waiting for his partner to come along. The Universe in its abundance granted them a chance of catching a ride to their city with one of the participants, which meant saving money on traveling home by train, as well as enabling some spare hours back home. Sitting on the side of the lobby, he waved goodbye to a few people that were already on their way, carrying suitcases and yoga mats across the hall. Everyone looked a little slimmer than at the beginning, but also a little brighter. Their faces glowed with excitement, as they wanted to share the learned practices and lessons with their families and friends. The boy wished for that too. Maybe someone will want to listen he pondered, putting into perspective the idea that not one person wishes to be taught something against their will, they must want to learn it first anyway… Appreciative of the time spent on the retreat, the humbling lessons taken from the freezing water, as well as many hours of extreme fasting, which in the end didn’t turn out that extreme, he smiled to himself nodding to the last person leaving the room. It’s yet another precious stage of the journey he thought, what a blessing to learn these things at such a young age…

Also check out my other story:

https://www.wsalski.com/post/forest-of-thoughts

#prose #onfasting #truestory #retreat #creativewriting