Ramadan to starve? Or a month of self reflection?

Ramadan (Ram·a·dan)

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈräməˌdän, ˈraməˌdan/

the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset

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Lets get one thing out of the way here, I am not a scholar of any religion nor do I claim to be one. 

Fasting is done from sun up (Fajir prayer) to sun down (Maghrib Prayer). I have been fasting since I was 9, I remember complaining to my parents "I'm hungry" "can I eat now" "when will it be time to eat." When I was young I would fast 3 - 4 days of the holy month, it wasn't until i was about 12 when I wanted to and started to fast the 30 days of Ramadan. 

The whole concept of Ramadan and fasting is so beautiful and enlightening if and when one tries to understand the concept. I have heard so many people say "have fun starving" "some god you have" "what if you pass out" "are you crazy" "are you really not going to eat or drink for 30 days" "thats crazy." 

When you drive a car eventually you will have to get it serviced, and when you abuse your car (accelerate hard, brake hard, burn your tires) you might need to replace one or two things or might need to cut back otherwise you will find yourself out of a working car. Just like that all year long many people from all different walks of life abuse their body, they smoke, they drink, they swear, they eat all kinds of unhealthy food, and the list goes on and on. So when a person fasts in the month of Ramadan it is not just "Oh I'm going to be starving and be thirsty all day for Allah(God)." It is a month of reflection what have I been doing all year, what do I need to change, are my habits out of control am I doing something I should not be? 

In todays society we don't have time for our self forget anyone else. There might be a select few in this world who take the time out to see how the family is and if they need something, but most of us we go to work in the morning come home watch some television do some groceries on certain days and go to sleep, the cycle starts the next day. There is zero time for our selves our body is very important, I mean "Ha!" it's the reason for our existence isn't it. On occasion when we meet up with some people that sometimes we call our friends they will say oh hey you are gaining weight or you don't look so good, light bulb goes off! We spend all night thinking about what they said "wow I really need to do something about this weight I cant look like this." Next morning we take out 5 minutes get on the internet and order some pills for weight loss, or the ones who really know what is going on order the detox pills, even though they should detox by changing their diet.

Life goes on, there comes a day we die we all have ways of making our selves forget about that day but that day may be today. No matter what religion or even if you don't follow a religion take some time out to reflect upon your self. What do you see? What condition is your body in? What situation is your life in? Muslims take out a whole month for self reflection, can't you just take a moment?, I think you owe it to your self.