Today we ask that you have faith.
Faith means, choosing to believe that reality is intrinsically good.
There is no way to prove this to you. That is why it is called faith.
Faith doesn’t mean, be a fundamentalist. Fundamentalists have no faith. They are absolutely certain about their worldview. They believe their sacred texts literally. That is not faith; that is certainty.
Faith can only exist in an environment of uncertainty. If you feel certain about something, that is not faith.
For any wise man, faith is a challenge. Reality continually challenges faith. In fact, the moment you begin to feel certain about anything in life, you can almost expect reality to throw you a curveball.
Faith means embracing uncertainty. Not rejecting it, as the fundamentalist or atheist does.
Faith means, embarking on a voyage. You may have a destination in mind, but you know full well that you may take some unexpected turns. The good traveler embraces those unexpected turns, as an integral part of the voyage.
The good traveler has faith that the act of the journey itself is intrinsically good, whether or not he reaches his planned destination.
The good liver of life has faith that the act of living is intrinsically good, whether or not he reaches his planned destinations, or the goals he set for himself as a young person, at the journey’s beginning.
Faith means being a good traveler, on the voyage of human existence. You are game for whatever comes.
And you know that your faith will be tested. That is the nature of faith. How can you develop it, if you are not tested?
Believe it or not, there is a part of you that wants all these tests and challenges.
It is the traveler part of you, the part that knows this life is but a temporary voyage. It wouldn’t be a good journey if there weren’t some major detours along the way.
Cultivating faith means, choosing to believe that reality is good, even when events — and the majority of humans — scream otherwise.
It means, believing in the goodness of this world. Certainly it does not mean engaging in the fundamentalist fantasy of an apocalypse, and utopian aftermath.
Faith means, this world is very good, right now.
It means choosing to believe that life itself, and all living things, are intrinsically good.
It wouldn’t be faith, if you didn’t have terrible doubts.
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