Cos I gotta have Faith...

Yes, just like that tune by George Michael, I too, gotta have faith.

My awesome friend, Clover, sent me an interesting and challenging email the other day. We have a great relationship, she & I, where we can ponder philosophy, creative endeavors and life's challenges.



Here's what she wrote me:

"faith is a powerful thing.
there are the people that DO and the people that don't.
the difference is everything.
it takes faith to DO, especially without reason.
without faith, there is no point.
so, what to believe in? what makes it ALL worth it?
self? other selves? society? god?

Ms. Coon... what GIVES you faith??"



wow. what a doozy!

After thinking long and hard about this topic, I replied with:

"Faith.

I believe that I get my faith from trusting that everything works out the way it should. This does not mean that I sit back & let life pass me by...no no. This means I get to go forth and do what I want to do or go forth doing what I HAVE to do, knowing that there is a reason that it works out that way. I believe it is because of my sense of self that it will work because in the long run, there is always something to be learned from any situation. I may not like certain situations as they are happening but can often look back after time has passed and see a reason for it happening. I have faith in myself to be as good of a person as I can be because I like being a good person...not out of fear of punishment, a god or judgement but because it feels good to be good. It is just to be good. It is respectful to self as well as respectful to the world. It feels good to have respect for self. (will the next question be "what do you define as 'good' or 'respect'?" :)

Faith feeds more faith.

Faith is ethereal. Faith is bigger than me. My faith encompasses my world. I have faith in self but also have faith in other people. Faith that they will go on their own journeys learning their own paths and being the best people they can be. Faith that they are whomever/whatever they are for a reason. It brings people together.

Faith suggests community.

Faith is intangible in a physical sense. Faith is tangible in an emotional sense. I imagine people who live with little faith as people who are extremely scared for most of their lives. I do not think it is possible to live without ANY faith. Why exist? A life without faith would be so filled with fear and doubt that you wouldn't be able to even function in the smallest sense. Eating would be impossible as you would have no faith that it would sustain you. Shelter would be impossible as you would never trust your landlord, mortgage (assuming you have money at all) or even the EARTH that supports your body.

One cannot live without SOME faith.

So, how do we measure our faith? By how much fear we possess? Maybe. I have fear. I lack faith and trust in our society, in this "mankind" at many turns. Funny that it's called "manKIND" because we aren't kind very often, are we? or ARE WE? When I really think about it...my faith in mankind gets restored as often as it is taken away. MORE so restored than it is taken away. I just tend to focus on when it is taken away because it hurts. But it is restored more often than not, otherwise, I'd be curled up under a rock somewhere...isolated.

Lack of faith feeds depression.

Faith is Security, Confidence and Hope all rolled into one. Faith is essential to life, to continue, to grow. Faith is inside expressed outward. Faith is a kiss in the dark.

I am very lucky for such plentiful faith in my life."



I think I could have written a novel on the subject, never knowing that I felt so strongly about it and never fully ackowledging my intimate relationship with my faith.

Clover gave me a great gift. Thanks girl.

So, I'm spreading the love to you, readers....what gives YOU faith?