Moral Timbers
One of the things we’ve enjoyed over our years of travel is watching for unique and humorous signs over shops and other public places. Near our former home in West Africa was the “Responsible Barber,” always reassuring. Here, commuting daily to language class we pass “Butt Footwear.” 
On the outskirts of our little town is a lumberyard called “Moral Timbers.” “Moral fiber” is an English cliché which is sometimes tossed around but seldom examined. “Moral timber” sounds even heavier, more serious.
Today is the first day of Ramadan, so perhaps “moral timber” is a relevant topic. Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting and prayer, and here in this Muslim-majority community it is a very big deal. While Islam is the dominant religion, the structure of society is constructed with moral timbers of many different types—Hindu influence, English colonialism, political movements of various stripes, and more recently, Bollywood. It doesn’t take a construction worker to realize that timber from different trees, different ages, qualities, and sizes used in the same building may make for a shaky and shifting structure.
Ramadan is a time when Muslims fast during daylight hours in order to make up for sins they’ve committed, hoping to start fresh with a spiritually clean slate. It’s a good time to take a look at the moral timbers that structure our lives. I’d like to think that the timbers I’m building with are strong, and will weather well—better, anyway, than Butt Footwear!
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Ramadan, timber by Lisa