Isn't it always hard to give up your morning coffee (or tea)? It seems like most people would agree it is. They would probably also agree that there's this place in our hearts that knows we need this temporary deprivation. Most likely, we need it because it suspends our habits, even our most essential ones like eating and drinking, giving us a mandatory month-long respite from our hectic, distracting lives. Distracting from what? The answer is dormant in all of us, and it has the most impact on our lives (in this world and after) yet receives little care from us: Our spiritual growth. Now spiritual growth has become a tricky subject, which is what we will attempt to discuss today.

For many people, spirituality is associated with "miracles" or unusual happenings such as a sixth sense, dreams and visions, seeing through people or even seeing their auras, and to take it to the extreme, walking on water. It becomes a momentary experience of something surreal and otherworldly, almost like an escape from the real everyday experience of the world.

These notions appear in many traditions whether it's Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Eastern, or New Age religions. Perhaps this indicates this tendency is not exclusive to a certain religion but is rather a human condition that could manifest within any tradition. Of course it is difficult to absolutely deny or confirm such notions and experiences, and that is not the concern here anyway. It is interesting though to contemplate this human quest for extraordinary happenings e.g. to understand what others don't, to see things most people don't, to be able to do unusual things. All this seems to have a subtle hint of attempting to emulate superhuman attributes like omniscience which is obviously

problematic for the Muslim sensibility at least. Moreover, it becomes easy for the ego to inflate whenever it believes it has achieved the extraordinary. Ultimately, a human starts to think he is superior to others in some way. It is a search for spectacle and awe, and it mostly draws us away from appreciating and befriending the ordinary.

So what if it was a lot simpler than all that? What if we aren't meant to escape the world, but actually grow spiritually through it with God's assistance? What if the ordinary moments of our lives can boost our spiritual growth through gratitude, forgiveness, giving, praying, cultivating good character, and basically every daily seemingly mundane human endeavor? A kiss on a child's forehead could be a spiritual feat, or a sincere effort to help a friend in need could elevate your spirit and connect you both to God. Our daily struggle to master our vices (instead of the other way around) elevates us everyday and gently clarifies our mind to better understand ourselves and the world, and more importantly to better comprehend our priorities and our real purpose. Whenever we face conflict, it's an opportunity to engage the spirit and rise above hate and resentment. If we receive praise and admiration it's a call to humble ourselves and reign in our egos. Even our jobs can be a spiritual path of service and contribution to the world. Through such things we can gradually realize truths that are sometimes joyful, other times painful, but always liberating. This is the daily struggle of man, and it's also his spiritual path .No AHA moments, no epiphanies, and no miracles become necessary if we understand spirituality this way; it's right around the corner at every ordinary moment. Only then can these extraordinary moments, if and when they happen, be the icing not the cake.

Thank God Ramadan is upon us. This is when the potential of our ordinary moments is accentuated and we are better able to shed our old ways and become more attuned to our spiritual path, gathering up strength and clarity for the year to follow.