Faith is a word that is talked about a lot in personal development. Many of us may conceptually understand what faith is. We may even make conscious efforts to employ faith consistently in our lives. But do we really utilize faith in ALL areas of our lives? We may not. We may have faith in certain areas of our lives, yet unconsciously lack it in other areas. What would your life look like if you had faith in ALL areas of your life? How would you feel, what would you accomplish? Distinguishing some of the areas in which we can employ faith, gives us conscious choice to employ faith in ways we may not think possible.
Faith is the ability to believe that adversity has a higher meaning than we can realize. Faith is the active process of persevering through challenging circumstances, despite rational or logical judgment.
Here's a situation . . . Let's suppose we've been running a business for two years and haven't turned a profit. In the face of barriers, we choose to keep going. Are we employing faith? That depends. For example, if all our family and friends believe in our inevitable success and encourage us to continue, then we are NOT employing faith. With these circumstances, we are simply using evidence (social proof) to justify our cause. However, if our family and friends were to tell us that it won't work and that we should stop, and we continue anyway - then we would be employing faith. We would be believing and acting upon something without any tangible evidence.
Faith in Ourselves
As humans, we mess up at times. I'm sure all of us can remember moments from our past that we are not proud of or happy about. Having faith in ourselves is knowing that everything from our past has or will serve a purpose. Having faith in ourselves is knowing that every difficult experience we face adds importance to our lives, even if we may not be conscious of it.
We live in a world where we interact with many other people, so having faith in ourselves is not enough. Sure, some people may lack integrity or may be acting in ways that aren't consistent with our values. Having faith in people is knowing that all people do the best they can with the resources they have. Having faith in other people is demonstrated through trust, even when other people may be untrustworthy.
Faith in Our Country
Regardless of the political system we (as a country) choose, there will invariably be times when we disagree with the principles/actions of our leaders. In fact, we may feel that there's no use in even voting. Having faith in our country is feeling the pride of living in the greatest, freest country in the world (if you don't think so, you can always focus on an aspect of your national history/culture that you love). Yes, there may be great ills and obstacles that we have yet to overcome - having faith is the willingness to think and act long-term, seeing ourselves overcoming those obstacles by taking proactive roles in the transformation of that construct.
Today, as you are reading this, there are many wars happening around the world. Some people are surprised that we haven't blown ourselves to bits already! Having faith in our world is understanding that change and transformation can take many generations. There may be a few "evil" forces out there . . . Having faith in the world is realizing that the "greater good" will always prevail.
Faith in God
There are so many religions out there, all claiming that they are "the right one." If there was a true and just God, why would He allow all of us to go through the headache of trying to figure who the right God is? Is there a "right" God? Are they really different Gods, or are they all the same God? Having faith in God is trusting in His ways. We are mortal, being conscious only for a fraction of eternal time. Having faith in God is knowing that whatever our current path may be, our current path is perfect just the way it is.
Too Much Faith?
Maybe you've had these thoughts: When I have faith in other people, they take advantage of me! When I have faith in God, I always get disappointed! How do I know WHEN to employ faith?
That's a good question. In fact, I'm not suggesting that we employ faith "all the time" or that we don't use our rational and logical judgment. That would be a little silly. However, every successful person I know or have read about went through many stages in their lives where nothing was going their way. In every area of their life, they had no support. They had to go past the visible evidence around them, and enter into the "unseen." They had to employ faith in all ways.
So the question is, are you at a similar point in your life? Have you tried everything, and nothing has worked? Are you at the end of your rope? If the answer to those questions is "Yes," then ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do I have faith in myself?
2. Do I have faith in people?
3. Do I have faith in my country?
4. Do I have faith in our world?
5. Do I have faith in God?
Let's love the world together...
Love,
[)anish /|hmed, blind visionary
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