Every year I use the anniversary of the Million Man March/Holy Day of Atonement (convened October 16, 1995) to make positive changes in my lifestyle and atone with my body. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan gave us Eight Steps of Atonement.
I would like to focus on the first step, “Point out the wrong.” Sometimes it is not a person pointing out that something is wrong, it is our body. If we have high blood pressure or if our blood sugar levels are high, our body has told us what is wrong, or if we are going in the wrong direction.
Another way the wrong gets pointed out is through our clothing. Whenever I notice my garments getting a little snug or tight, I know I have been eating too many sweets or processed food or have slacked on my workouts.
The clothes do not lie (smile). Therefore, we must be honest with ourselves. How are your clothes fitting? Are we grateful for our body or do we mistreat it by feeding it poor mental and physical food? Do we overfeed it or deprive it of fresh air, sun, and physical exercise?
Let us look at the first four steps of the Eight Steps of Atonement from Minister Farrakhan, and see how we can incorporate them into our fitness lifestyle. (Quotes are from Minister Farrakhan’s Million Man March Atonement Message on October 16, 1995.)
1. Point out the wrong: Minister Farrakhan said that this first step is often the most difficult because, “when we are wrong and we are not aware of it, someone has to point out the wrong. The most difficult thing is when somebody points it out. Do we accept it?”
How do we respond when someone points out that we are gaining too much weight or eating something we shouldn’t? Most important, can we point out the wrong in our diets? Have we committed a “wrong” to our bodies because we don’t exercise?
We must know what needs correction. Therefore, we must each perform a self-examination and self-analysis to perform a correction. It would also be a good idea to get a physical so that you may have an up-to-date reading of your body.
2. Acknowledge the wrong: “To acknowledge means to admit the existence…,” the Minister said in part. All we have to do is look around and we can see the health problems of our community and ourselves.
3. Confess: Our first confession should be to Allah (God) to help relieve your soul of the burden it bears. “The Holy Qur’an says it like this: ‘I have been greatly unjust to myself and confess my faults. So, grant me protection against all my faults for none grants protection against faults but thee.’
It is only through confession that we be granted protection from the consequences of our faults, for every deed has a consequence and we can never be granted protection against the faults that we refuse to acknowledge or that we are unwilling to confess,” Minister Farrakhan explained.
If we know we eat too much junk and fried foods, confess and move on to the next step.
4. Repentance: When we repent, we feel such remorse or shame, that we are determined to never conduct ourselves in such a way again.
Minister Farrakhan stated that,“Until we repent and feel sick and sorry over what we have done, we can never, never change our mind toward that thing; and if you don’t repent, you’ll do it over and over again.”
We should feel bad about eating an entire bag of chips or a pint of ice cream. If we don’t feel shame, then we are on our way to silencing the voice of Allah (God) within. That is something we definitely don’t want to do.
What is it that you don’t want to do? God-willing, we will discuss more in an upcoming article. May Allah (God) bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth, and happiness.
Dr. Audrey Muhammad is an educator, aerobics instructor, and author of “Get Fit to Live: Be Your Best You!” Contact her at [email protected] and for more information, visit www.virtuetodaymag. com. Please consult a physician before beginning any new exercise or dietary program.
