One of the things that I appreciate about Ramadan is the realization of how much control I have over my behaviours.
Sometimes, I fall into this trap of blaming shyatan (devil) of what I did. But in fact, shaytan only whispers and invites, but it is I who accept the invitation. When Ramadan comes I know in my mind that shaytan is not here and his influence has been diminished greatly. That is one of the mercy of this holy month that we are in right now.
So it is all on me now. But this is not just true for Ramadan. In other months, the equation stays the same: shaytan only invites, but it I who accept the invitation. This month helps me realize the amount of control I actually have over what I think, say, or do.
Take smoking as a simple example. In Ramadan, you realize that you have the power to succumb your desires. I am not saying that it is easy. Smoking is an addiction and it requires a lot of work to overcome, especially when you are doing it for such a long time.
However, the fact that you can stay away from smoking from the break of dawn until sunset is truly amazing. It is a testament to how much control you have over your addiction and a proof that you can truly change if you are willing to do so.
The main point here is that we have control over our behaviours. Shaytan only invites, but we have the authority to either accept or deny the invitation.
Between the two choices, lets hope that we can choose the right one.