Well 'triumph' is a bit strong. Let's say success instead. The success of fulfillling the physical terms of the fast. But though difficult to some degree - twenty-nine days can seem an awfully long time - that was always going to be the easy bit.
No, the tough part was the rest, the psychological stuff. Not to get irritated or lose one's temper, for example. I'm not at all sure I succeeded there. 'Defeat' is an appropriate word, I'm afraid. But there has been something learned, in terms of the restraint that this is all about. Something almost physical, a kind of bodily knowing. And this is a day on which to seek the forgiveness most of us so urgently need. I know I do.
This restraint, by the way, is something close to the patience recommended in King Lear, and there was a man who needed to learn that virtue. More sinned against than sinning. Yes, I think most of us have been there some time or other.
In the meantime Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all.
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