What Does Faith Have to Do With Anything?
What Is Faith?
Faith, according to the Webster and Oxford definitions: * allegiance to duty or a person: loyalty. * belief that is not based on proof. * Belief in God or the doctrines or teachings of religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. * belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit. * complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
How do we arrive at our faith? Is faith something we acquire as we maneuver our daily lives? Is it part of our DNA? Or is it environmental factors that influence us early on? All of the above and more at varying levels.
Dismantling Beliefs
After reflecting and examining some serious but dubious belief systems, I realize faith has been a part of my being since I was young. A natural faith I exhibited through actions in my early years. Walking home from kindergarten when my dad forgot to pick me up. Having faith that I could learn how to tie my shoes and write cursive left-handed. Faith in my creative and artistic abilities to pursue a degree in art, even though my family history is devoid of artists.
The dismantling of my beliefs in traditional avenues of conviction began early. I grew up Catholic, not a strict adherent, but there were expectations. I attended church sporadically, was baptized, received First Communion, went to confession, prayed only when I wanted something, and was confirmed (a sacrament beyond my comprehension). All before the age of 13. What does anyone know about faith and beliefs at that age?
I dutifully went through all the traditional religion-based steps required to proclaim my faith, even getting married in the Catholic Church to please my family. Going along to appease and survive. But…deep down, I questioned it all.
Why does faith continue to remain tightly in the clutches of religion?
The religious use of the word is essentially a form of blind loyalty, as it often implies trust in something despite a lack of evidence for it.
I did not realize until more recently how destructive it was for me to repress my true feelings about faith.
Beliefs Change as We Grow
Beliefs come and go with the changing seasons and personal growth. Faith, on the other hand, is a state of being, a product of the spirit and a commitment to self. It is steadfast. I have felt this steadiness throughout my life.
Belief is not based on truth. For example, in our everyday lives, we do not know if the food we eat is safe, that we may die in a car crash, or that our house could burn down. Or even fundamental beliefs such as the sun will not explode today, the existence of an external world, the law of gravity won’t suddenly stop working. None of these prevents people from acting on and having a level of certainty in these things.
The sun has indeed come up every day during my lifetime without exploding, so it is reasonable for me to have faith that it will continue to do so. Faith based upon experience.
Beliefs can often hinder learning. The stronger beliefs we have, the more difficult it is for us to open up to new ways of learning or gaining perspectives that conflict with those beliefs. I have learned this lesson time and time again, realizing all sides of a situation.
Faith As a Pliable Term
Atheists have faith in themselves. They don’t seek to blame or praise a deity for the things that go badly or well in their lives. I recently read this response to a question asked of Atheists about whether they could have faith. The question was rather silly, but it brought to the surface a frank discussion about what faith really means.
One of the responses discussed faith as a malleable term, one that is often used carelessly, a phenomenon that has happened to the meaning of many words throughout the centuries. Words we appropriate to fit our own needs. Faith can mean one thing in some situations and something different in others. Ultimately, faith in everyday life is another way to say having confidence.
Self Reliance
Even though I lacked confidence based on society’s expectations, I knew I could count on myself—my awareness of the need to be self-reliant led to the manifestation of my internal confidence.
I did not project my faith outward for fear of negative backlash. My self-reliance was shaky at first, but it naturally became stronger with experience. In addition, my faith was not traditional. I did not adhere to the cultural norms of my environment. For instance, the belief system that some deity would save me from ruin. I choose to be responsible to myself and for myself, no excuses or blame.
I often wonder why I was endowed with faith at such a young age. Some argue that individuals with faith are naturally optimistic. Maybe on the surface they are, but deep down, faith requires trust. And personally, I did not have a genuine trust in anyone, not even those closest to me.
But for some reason, I trusted myself. The only one there for me was always me. I am not discounting the people in my life who have had my back or taught me things along the way. However, ultimately, we are the only ones who can be there for ourselves and act on our own behalf.
I had an early confidence, not in others or the world, but in myself.
Acting On Faith
“Faith gives you inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life”, Gregory Peck. I like this statement because it resonates with me. Faith is not about mindlessly following something/someone because it is fashionable or culturally accepted, or believing in absolutes. Faith is an internal feeling of strength and commitment to self and trusting yourself to act upon that faith and in other words, walking your talk.
When acting on faith, it becomes essential to question, or it simply becomes blind faith. I have been in numerous situations where I have trusted the people on the other end without asking the right questions, even when my intuition told me to do so.
Taking Action
When my daughter was working through her substance use disorder, there were so many times when my faith in the system that was taking care of her let me down. I wanted to trust that she was in good hands so badly. But knew deep down inside my soul that there were a few evil characters whose only concern were numbers. The driver was greed, not compassion. The more times she relapsed, the more monetary exchanges the system reaped.
I learned through trial and error to ask questions and not mindlessly follow the BS I was given. My steadfast faith in my daughter’s ability to come through was based on the fact that she has the combined DNA of her father and me, which is pretty solid. In addition, her early years before entering puberty and all the chaos that ensued were good formative years for her. They were filled with love, compassion, fun, adventure, friends and family. These facts and the experience I obtained through the tough relapse/recovery years gave me hope that the authentic young woman that was my daughter would surface.
I act on my faith every day as my daughter and I witness and exchange the love and respect we have for one another during this time. Having faith in myself is what helps me survive the daily unknowns. Faith has always been within me, and it has always been there for me.
Image: “Out of Obscurity — Revival”
The image I chose to accompany this blog is a mixed-media acrylic on canvas. It was an image that had undergone many transformations to reach this point. It wanted to reveal something to me, but I was either being too forceful or not allowing it to expose itself naturally. But through all that, I did have faith that eventually the image would reveal itself. And it did.