June 11, 2013

ISIQ-0165

I’m the last guy you’d expect to be talking about faith.

Seriously.

My whole life, I’ve been obsessed with logic, reason, fact, proof, and healthy skepticism. I don’t practice any organised religion. I was raised Catholic, but haven’t considered myself religious since school finished. (Actually, probably a couple of years before school finished, in all honesty.)

I respect everyone’s right to choose what they believe, but I personally don’t dig what most organised religions stand for, or how they operate.

There is something else, though.

I’ve discovered that while I’m not religious, I am deeply spiritual, and, in many ways, I still have faith in my life.

I’ve realised I have enormous faith in myself, and my abilities to take me where I need to be.

I have enormous faith in the power of love to heal ANYTHING. (John Lennon was right – all you need IS love.)

I have faith in my wife, to be the most awesome partner a guy like me could ever hope to walk beside.

I have faith in my children, that they will choose well on their path through life.

And most “woo woo” of all, I have a subtle – yet growing – faith in something I guess I think of as The Universe.

The Universe is, to me, the vast unseen mystical power we tap into when we are being true to our deepest selves.

It’s like our subconscious. Maybe even our collective unconscious. It’s what many people refer to as The Divine, and it can be both out there, and in here – within each of us.

It’s the “something bigger” that we have either created, or remembered, from somewhere deep in our soul.

I don’t care what you call it, or whether I’m even right.

I suppose what I’m getting at here is the notion that we each have a little something of faith in us, that keeps us straight when the world curves, or keeps us curved when the world is too straight.

I actually think we all need a little faith, to keep us sane on the lonely nights when meaning escapes and reason disappears down a dark alley and love is on vacation and comfort is missing and there are too many choices and not enough clarity.

Faith is what helps us say things like “It’ll all be OK. Everything will be fine. Everything happens for a reason. All things must pass.” and actually believe what we say.

In my life, my faith in The Universe is what helps me drive through the fog of conflicting responsibilities, wavering resolve, and oppressive overwhelm.

Is it kinda the same thing as God? (In whatever form you may choose to believe in him/her/it?)

Yeah, probably.

But does that even matter? We each have a way of seeing the world, and we use whatever tools we have to hand, to help us along our journey.

I choose not to call it God.

But I still have faith.

And love. Lots and lots and lots of love.

With a healthy, big helping of that aforementioned love, just for you,
Israel. xo

Today’s photo was taken on the morning of my first attempt at departure to Fargo. The fog turned out to be very bad for my flight schedule. But more on that to come in an upcoming photo essay on my trip. Stay tuned :)

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