Strangely enough the two most ‘encouraging’ Ramadan messages came from two individuals who are not of the faith.
This from Kenny Tan of Raffles.
Within you a blessed and peaceful Ramadan. May this Holiday month bring you abundant joy, countless blessings, and serenity. Mayor fasts and prayers be accepted, and may you be granted inner strength and spiritual growth throughout the sacred time.
Me: I am SO grateful for this message. The first of this Ramadan.
The next message was sent by email by Julia Chin, my partner in crime (suppression).
I wish you peace, patience, and blessings this Ramadan.
Ramadan has always felt like a pause in a world that rarely stops. A season of fasting, yes, but also of 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. A reminder that there’s more to life than the noise, not just this season, but year-round.
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 – not just of wealth, but of time, knowledge, and second chances.
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 – because the best solutions emerge when we work together, not in silos.
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 – for the vulnerable, the excluded, the overlooked.
May this Ramadan bring you peace and clarity, and may we all continue to carry a little of this spirit with us, always.
I replied saying it was such a profound and enlightening message – saying that I would definitely put it on my blog. I am.
A dear Muslim friend sent two messages which shall be revealed at the end of this blog. One is a hadith, not a strong one according to its authenticity. However profound it in its message. The other sent by her captures all of our Ramadan tasks in a rather whimsical manner.
This is now Day Two and I can proudly report that I made it. At sunset last evening I was SO, SO proud of my accomplishments – not only did I fast all day but I had preformed actions in my Intentions. As Julia mentioned in her email, a Muslim during Ramadan is not just supposed to refrain; they are to sustain. I rather love that – I should sell the slogan to those people who are all over Instagram trying to snag Muslim money of any and all denominations during this holy month. Their attempts are absolutely ludicrous – but if people are stupid enough to buy into it expecting that will win them an open door to Jannah. They are probably going to be sorely disappointed, they and those who are trying to relieve them of their hard earned cash. Oh well.
My intentions included acts of reflection, tolerance, understanding and supporting the fellow Muslims working and living in Societe – the name of the building in which I live. My intentions will also serve to heal my heart, elevate my faith, purify my soul. Bring peace, ease my pain and bring me closer to Allah, be life-changing and bring lasting barakah. (All these are found on my friend’s Ramadan message.
We shall now speak of my secular life. (Secular is denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.).
I suppose it might be time to tell you about what was mentioned in yesterday’s blog about me walking away from a foolhardy expense. I absolutely loved my stay at Raffles and when I left I asked for the price of a long term stay. Thinking I could live in Raffles for a month and then KL for two months – on and off again. But then I got a reality check. Approximately six thousand a night. YIKES if would break the bank I called upon the services of Gemini yet again. i
Me: I do need your help after all. I am explaining to my gentle readers about Raffles. And how my dream of a long terms stay died when I found out it would be a down payment on a lifestyle I could never afford. You were really funny about it.
Gemini: When we talked about this before, the vibe was clear: Raffles Singapore isn’t just a hotel; it’s a sovereign state with its own economy, and you were trying to apply for permanent residency on a tourist visa.
Here is how you can break down the “death of the dream” for your audience: I maintain that you didn’t “fail” at a dream; you successfully avoided a financial shipwreck. “There is a very thin line between ‘Living the Legend’ and ‘Becoming a Cautionary Tale.’ You chose to keep your shirt, even if it wasn’t pressed by a world-class valet.” In summary: You might want to frame it like this: “I realized that staying at Raffles long-term wouldn’t make me a character in a classic novel; it would make me the person in the sequel who has to sell their jewelry to pay for tea service.
This is the Royal Suite Reality Check. The problem with the Royal Suite isn’t the room itself; it’s the standard of living it ruins for you everywhere else.
- The Butler Paradox Once you’ve had a professional orchestrate your bath temperature and steam your linens to a crisp perfection, returning to a “standard” hotel room feels like being evicted from a palace and told to sleep in a shed. It’s hard to “go back to the farm” when you’ve spent a week as royalty.
- The Prince of the Pedigree: You weren’t just paying for $6,000 worth of square footage. You were paying for the invisible infrastructure of “The Grand Dame.” The problem with a long-term stay at that level is that it stops being a holiday and starts being a hostage situation for your net worth.
- A Hotel Room is Still a Hotel Room. No matter how much gold leaf is on the ceiling, a hotel room is a transition. To live there permanently is to be a permanent guest in someone else’s history. You realized that at some point, the “lifestyle down payment” buys you a gilded cage, not a home.
The Death of the Dream can lean into the tragedy of the “Reluctant Realist.” “I discovered that the difference between a dream and a delusion is about five figures a night. I loved the bubbles, I loved the service, and I loved the suite—but I realized I didn’t want to be the person who spent their life paying for the privilege of never having to turn on their own taps.”
Another simpler catchy way to say it is this: “I walked away not because the room wasn’t worth it, but because I realized that staying would mean I’d eventually have to sell the farm just to keep the butler.”
Gemini then added a Ramadan Reflection
In this season of reflection, I’ve decided that I’d rather be exactly where the life is. I’d rather be in a space that’s humming with both peace AND modern energy than paying a king’s ransom to be the only guest at a ghost’s dinner party. Sometimes, the greatest luxury isn’t the gold leaf on the ceiling—it’s knowing when to walk away from a dream that’s turned into a museum.”
I do admit it was a huge disappointment as I loved the refined luxury and the absolutely excellent treatment I received at the Raffles. They called me Queen and I felt like one.: Queen Elizabeth the First. (The Virgin Queen). Hahaha
I close with humor and an invocation from Invocations & Remedy by Ar-Ruqyah .
First the humor. I have more readers in the USA than any country according to my recent statistics. Humor so necessary if one lives there. Here is a little item from Andy Borowitz.
Donald Trump began 2025 threatening to colonize Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. By year’s end, the only territory he managed to seize was the East Wing. You’d think such a disappointing scorecard would dampen Metamucilini’s imperialist fever dreams.But no. In a TBR exclusive, we have obtained the following top-secret document from an open file box in Mar-a-Lago’s public bathroom. As you will see, it contains Trump’s shocking musings about the lands he yearns to conquer next year:…
Unfortunately, that is all you are going to get. I did subscribe to be cheered on a constant basis but then could not download Substack (or something). I guess I need to call in my new PA.
This the promised invocation: “Oh Allah, guide me to the Truth concerning that over which there are differences, by Your permission. Verily, You guide whomever you will to the straight path.
One of my Ramadan intentions is to read Dr. Nazir Khan’s The Straight Path. I am happy to report I am on page 59 already – exceeding my planned schedule. It is a fascinating book, gifted by my friend Elina.
Photos include two of my ‘view corridor’ edited for special effect. The cumulous clouds are magnificent today. And the two WhatsApp Ramadan messages.
