Faith is a very polarizing topic, isn’t it? If you ask people today, do you have faith in God? Many people will respond, well, I don’t consider myself a religious person.
I do not attend a church or a synagogue or a mosque. I consider myself a spiritual person. I have faith in something higher, something bigger.
I don’t know quite what that is. So there is no faith in the old fashioned, if you will, monotheistic, religious institutions. There seems to be something afoot.
So what is faith? I think faith could probably be understood as a deep trust in perhaps someone or something that you just believe. You don’t have proof.
In that sense, you make the quote-unquote Kierkegaardian leap of faith, as he supposedly coined somewhat something like that thought. It seems to me is really broken into two fundamental categories, isn’t it?
On the one hand, you have faith in a person after you’ve seen their actions a number of times, whatever they may or may not be. So, for instance, if someone makes an appointment for 8 o’clock, they tell you, I’ll be there at 8 o’clock.
And they are there at 8 o’clock, and this happens numerous times. They are always there for their appointment and on time, if not a little bit early. And then they tell you, I’ll see you tomorrow at 2.
Well, you have faith that that person will be there probably at that designated time. Or other things could be scholastic studies.
You work hard on your studies and you have faith in your studying partner that they will show up and pull it off so to speak. Because they’ve done it before.
The other faith, more the cerebral faith, faith in God, Gaia or the universe as I always like to say. So this kind of faith is really a leap into the unknown, isn’t it?
You have faith that there is some omniscient power above you that you can’t understand. But if it’s necessary, you can have a relationship with, a personal relationship, if it’s necessary.
But of course not always, because God by definition is unknowable. But you have this faith that your relationship with that unknowable being or consciousness is somehow going to benefit your life.
And curiously, if you do have this kind of faith, and back it up with some kind of formalized religious institution, you are actually psychologically happier.
Many studies have shown you feel better about consciousness, about reality, as you define it. Now, you could be fooling yourself, of course. There’s always that possibility, I could be wrong.
I don’t believe so personally, when you look at the body of evidence. From the beauty of nature, to the laughter of children, to this concept of love, loving another human being.
Obviously, there’s something bigger than just man’s interventions, I believe. But of course, other people say that’s absolutely ridiculous. There is nothing.
But I don’t think their lives are wealthier, spiritually and intellectually and philosophically, for making those kinds of claims, for sure. Faith can be many types of faith, can’t it?
Faith, of course, is belief without evidence, but it’s also a commitment to yourself to live a certain way in life, right? So, when I was very young, I knew that my life would be okay.
I had faith that it would all work out, and with all its frustrations, and its traumas, and all sorts of things, it has worked out for sure to my advantage. No question at all.
I would say that I’m a happy man at 69 years old, because I had faith that things would be fine and will get better. I mean, it’s not over by any stretch, right?
So, you’re making a bizarre at that point, when you’re very young, you made this kind of leap of faith, as I was alluding to earlier, from, of course, Soren Kierkegaard.
A person has to have something inside themselves that makes this belief manifest, belief in something higher, right? And you do then get this kind of curious faith as an inner certainty. I’ve experienced this even in my darkest moments.
I knew that I would pull it off. And in that sense, faith becomes perseverance, doesn’t it? You get a little bit angry with yourself.
This is nonsense. I can’t exist in this state of pain forever. I must go on.
I must. So in that way, even if you’re being buffeted around by the winds of reality, so to speak, you seem to be tethered with this anchor, right? With this anchor that pulls you forward, right?
And then your faith drives you on because something larger than you is calling you. And you kind of find a type of courage, I guess, that you could say really, I will pull this off. I remember many, many years ago starting a business with no money.
Well, we had some money, but no way near enough money to really get going. But I just knew we would eventually pull it off. And we did.
We finally did. We were able to be successful, right? So I think, say to yourself that I’m in my notebook, I’ve begun to write every day.
What is my act of kindness today? What kind things did I do? And I say my prayers, make my bed, all of those things.
But those are all faith-based concepts, aren’t they? Three questions again. I’ve repeated often, why am I here?
Me? No one like me, never has been, never will be. But then I must open the door to me.
What is my mission? I must uncover my mission by writing in my notebook, introspection, speaking with the universe. And finally, what happens when I leave here?
What is my legacy here? And what does my transcendence mean? Take a chance that there is something greater than you.
And ultimately, faith will make you a more contented person, and it will allow you to arrive where you’re supposed to be, I believe. And you know what they say. You know what they say.
Critical thinking is everything, especially when you want to predicate your life on faith. Faith in you, faith in God, faith in your civilization, and faith that it will all work out positively. Not naively positively, but truly positively.
And critical thinking is great, truly great. You take care. God bless.
Bye-bye.